The Missing Piece
by love-jonasxx
Summary: “It wouldn’t be weird if I told you that you were my missing piece,” he asked uncertainly, gripping her hand. “No,” she murmured, “not at all.” S/M fic.
1. The Voice

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heyyy people!! thanks for taking the time out of your day to read my story. =] this is my first camp rock one. and i am in love with this story. its roughly based off of camp rock. but theres no camp. and no mean girls. haha i didnt use the same last names for any of the characters expect for shane. thats just cause i wanted to have fun and change them up. =]

**i do not own camp rock or its people or music. **

**hope you like it! i would love to hear your thoughts about it too.**

**Chapter One: The Voice**

**Friday – 11:30 am**

"Oh boy, it's finally Friday," Mitchie Jordan sighed happily. "Hasn't this week felt like it's been going on for about a month?"

"It really does," one of her best friends, Caitlyn Connor, agreed.

Her other best friend, Lola Tanner, plopped down on the seat next to Caitlyn. She threw her brown paper lunch bag on the table.

"Woah, Lo, what's got you all riled up?" Mitchie asked, taking a bite of her peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"Ugh! She is so infuriating!" complained the dark blond beauty. "She is making me waste my whole entire study hall to work on my solo. My WHOLE study hall."

Caitlyn and Mitchie shared a look. "Why? Study hall isn't that important."

"This was going to be the day that Derek finally asked me to prom. And now since I won't be there, that is never going to happen."

"Can he only ask you in study hall?" wondered Mitchie sarcastically.

"Oh, shut it. This is terrible."

"Hey, I have an idea," Mitchie stated. "I can meet you in the choir room during your study hall, and I can practice while you practice."

"Yeah right, you think she would actually go for that. She wants me to be in the band room."

Caitlyn chuckled. "Oh, I love hearing you two bicker about singing and instruments."

"You're just jealous you have no musical talent," Lola said.

"No, I'm pretty good with having no musical talent."

"Whatever," Lola turned to Mitchie. "I can try to meet you, but I really doubt I will be able too."

"That's fine; I'll be in there anyway. I got to practice."

An eruption of squeals broke out at the table in the farthest corner of the room; the Teeny Bopper Table is what the girls called them. "What's going on with them? Has N*SYNC come out with a new CD? Or are they celebrating the gayness of Lance Bass?"

The three snickered. "Actually, I think they are freaking out because apparently Connect 3 and their entourage are going to be in school today."

"Wait, they are finally going to school! Yeah for their education!" shouted Mitchie.

Lola rolled her dark brown eyes at her friend.

"Why?" asked Caitlyn, seeming more interested than Mitchie.

"Who knows really? They picked some random school to come in and just talk to I guess. They will probably sing some."

"Who is Connect 3 exactly?" Mitchie asked.

"Some boy band, no one special," Caitlyn said. "My sister freaks out about them all the time. Obviously they are popular among the young and innocent."

"Unless they sing classic rock, I've never heard of them," said Mitchie.

"More of your pop stuff."

"How do you know all this Lo?"

"I love Connect 3!" the 18 year-old shrieked. "They are so cute! And all of them are really amazing singers."

"You're too old to like them," Mitchie pointed out.

"I like to think I haven't grown out of my youth yet."

Mitchie shook her head. The bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Lola groaned loudly. "Ugh, I do not wanna go practice the flute. I feel so dumb when I practice by myself."

"Ask Band Nazi if you can come to the choir room," instructed Mitchie.

"I will, not promising anything," Lola said. She gathered her books up and said, "I'll see you after school."

Caitlyn waved goodbye to her. "Come on Mo; let's get to our lockers before the mass of Teeny Boppers run us over."

Mitchie laughed. "That would be an unfortunate death."

The two girls pushed their way through the crowded halls. "This is absolutely ridiculous. I feel like I'm at the mall when a sale is going on."

Mitchie haphazardly grabbed three books in hope that she would need them during her last three classes. "Okay, I'll see you last period; I gotta go get my practice done."

"Good luck, I'm sure you will do fine."

"Bye CC!"

After saying bye to Caitlyn, Mitchie found it extremely difficult to get to her next class. She practically dropped all of her books in attempt to dodge a screaming/singing freshman.

'Utterly insane,' she thought to herself, as she scampered off quickly in the direction of the choir room.

She noticed that everywhere she went there was some talk going on about the arrivals of the teen pop stars. All she could do was roll her emerald green eyes at the star struck students.

The choir room was in the far part of the building, away from all the noises and distractions. The hallway to the choir room was far more deserted than all the others. Mitchie loved the quiet, peaceful air of the music wing. She felt that all her worries and fears went away when she walked into her choir room. Yes, her choir room is what she called it.

"Hey Mitchie, how are you doing today?" her choir teacher, Mrs. Malone greeted.

"Good, it's madness out there."

"People tend to get a little crazy when celebrities are around. I'll be out of your way in a moment. I gotta finish putting these grades in the computer."

"Take your time, I'm in no rush," she said, placing her bag on one of the empty chairs.

"Okay Lark, I'm done," Mrs. Malone said, grabbing her lunch bag. "I'll be back in twenty minutes. I want to hear your progress when I get back."

Mitchie nodded. "I can't promise anything."

"You will do fine," said Mrs. Malone smiling as she exited the room.

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Friday – 11:31 am

"This is madness," Shane Gray whispered to his brothers.

They were walking into Passaic High School and already the sounds of screaming girls could be heard.

"Get used to it boys," their agent said. "This is what fame brings."

Nodding together, the boys put smiles on their faces. Some person came running at them from the school. The boys' parents informed them that is was the principal of the school.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to Passaic High School! We are very glad that you could come today," the short, plump man said happily.

"No problem," Kevin said happily. "It's our pleasure."

He smiled. "I have a room setup for Connect 3; I will have someone show you there. You are allowed to roam the school as pleased. We will have an assembly at the end of the day."

The principal said this all very fast, either because he was extremely nervous or just because he usually talked that fast. Shane didn't know, but he did know that he wasn't looking forward to this day. High school students were much different than middle school or elementary students. Most high school students didn't even know about them and could rather careless. He had a feeling this was going to be a long day.

The brother's were shown their room; it was actually a rather large classroom with stadium seating. "If you need anything at all, please feel free to call me right away."

With his final words, the principal left the three brothers' in peace with their parents. The brothers' mother and father quickly decided that they were going to go talk to the principal about the assembly later. They were gone in a flash.

"Well, what do you want to do now?"

"What is there to do in a school?" Jason asked, looking bored.

A bell sounded throughout the school. The shuffling of feet and whooping of students floated into the classroom they were in. "How about we wait until the next bell rings so we can wander around?" suggested Nate.

"This depresses me, I always hated school. Being here makes me feel like I'm back at school," Jason said.

The bell rang again. The boys looked at each other. "Shall we?"

"Let's get this over with."

"Which way?" Jason asked once in the hallway.

Shane glanced to the sign on the wall. "Oh, let's go to the music wing!"

"How about not, let's go to the gym," said Jason.

Nate nodded, agreeing with Jason.

"You two can go to the gym, I'm gonna go to the music wing," said Shane.

He walked away from his brothers, glad to be alone for once. Walking the halls of the school brought memories back to him of his own school days – before he became famous that is. He didn't mind school, but it was just too boring for his own taste. He would rather have been out playing music than be stuck in school.

A door opened ahead, a middle-aged woman exited the room. "Aren't you supposed to be in class, young man?" she wondered, waging a disapproving finger at him.

Shane practically fell on the floor laughing. That was a first. "I'm on my way, just a little late," he ad-libbed.

"I'll let you slide since it's nearing the end of the school year. Now get to class."

"It won't happen again Mam," promised Shane, smiling.

The teacher sauntered away, leaving a laughing Shane. Wait until he told his brothers that someone mistook him for a student. Shane walked over to the classroom she had just left, peering through the door and saw the back of a girl. He put his ear up to the door, she was playing a guitar.

Intrigued, Shane opened the door a crack so he could hear her play. The girl had her wavy brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail. One purple streak traced up into her ponytail, he already loved it. He could tell that she was already beautiful, without even having to see her face. She sat on a stool, facing the windows. Music sprung off the guitar in her lap. She was good.

She started singing, Shane could barely hear her but he didn't want to go any farther. He didn't want to disrupt her playing. She stopped abruptly, sounding frustrated.

"This sucks!" she exclaimed. "Why can't I get this right?"

Shane wanted to tell her to keep going, that she wasn't terrible. He wanted to hear her sing. He silently begged her to start again.

After a moment of gathering her thoughts, she played again. This time louder than the first, her fingers stumbled over a few chords but she quickly fixed her mistake. Finally she began to sing.

'_This is real, this is me_

_I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now_

_Gonna let the light shine on me_

_Now I've found, who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in_

_No more hiding who I wanna be_

_This is me.'_

Every fiber in his body hummed. Her voice and words made his whole body shiver with chills. She had an amazing voice. The words were kind of sad, but they must have been true. He couldn't believe how good she was. Everything in him told him to move out of the shadows and introduce himself. He didn't want to see like a creeper though, that wouldn't be a good move. And then it hit him, the best idea he's had in ages. He turned around so suddenly that the door slammed shut.

"Oh crap," he said softly. Without turning around, he raced back to the classroom. He had to tell his brothers the idea.

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Friday – 11:43 am

The door slammed shut, shaking Mitchie out of her singing trance.

"Whose there?" she asked worriedly. "Anybody there?"

Somewhat freaked out now, she placed the guitar back on its stand. She didn't feel like waiting for Mrs. Malone to return, so she gathered her bag and books and walked out of the classroom quickly.

Someone had been listening to her. She could feel it. Someone had been spying on her while she was practicing. The thought of someone else listening to her while she sang scared her. She hated to sing in front of other people. The idea of having every single person listen to you and then criticize your ever word and tone didn't appeal to her at all. Singing in private was much more her thing. She knew she wasn't anything good, but the feeling she got when she sang stopped herself from thinking she was extremely bad.

Still, she was never going to sing in front of a crowd.

During her next class, Principal Wallens came over the system for an announcement. "Students and teachers, as you all know, today Passaic High is Connect 3." He paused, people began whooping and hollering. "Yes, very exciting I know. We are having an assembly in the auditorium during sixth and seventh periods. All students must attend. The boys have just informed me that they have a contest idea for you students." Again with the whooping and hollering. "They are going to hold open auditions to find the voice they are looking for. I'm not exactly sure what that means. But they told me that they want anyone and everyone to audition. The auditions will be held in the chorus rooms during sixth and seventh period. Thank you students, and have a good rest of the afternoon."

Mitchie groaned. There was no way she was going to stay the rest of the day and listen to a punch of terrible singers try to win over the hearts of the pop sensations. She quickly decided that she was going to skip out on the rest of the day, not caring if she got in trouble.

The bell rang and Mitchie went on a search to find Lola and Caitlyn. Lucky her, she found them both standing at Caitlyn's locker.

"You guys wanna skip out on this thing?" she asked them.

Caitlyn nodded quickly, but Lola was more reluctant. "I kind of want to see the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana."

"You would," laughed Caitlyn. "Well, you can stay. Me and Mo will go have fun on the town."

Lola's face caved slightly. Mitchie knew that would make her change her mind. "Come on Lo, they are just some teenage pop stars. You can watch them on TV."

"Okay, I guess so," sighed Lola. "Since we're going into town, can we by chance stop at Kohls? I've been meaning to swing by and get some new clothes."

"Of course," Mitchie agreed. "Let's slip out now."

**

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Friday – 12:00 pm

"Do you really think this is going to work Shane?" asked Jason skeptically. "This seems way too difficult."

"Yeah man. You should have just walked in on her by accident or something."

"I didn't want to disturb her."

"Well, you better hope we find her, otherwise we're going to look like idiots that don't even find the voice."

Shane nodded, hoping with all his heart he would find that girl with the voice.

After two grueling periods of listening to endless songs about lord knows what, the boys had had enough. Shane didn't find the voice, or girl, he was looking for, which made him very upset.

"Did you find her?" wondered Nate.

Shane shook his head sadly. "I can't believe it. Why is it this one time I actually find some good talent, and they don't even bother to show up for the auditions?"

"Maybe it's just not her thing. Don't blame her."

"I know, I know. I just wish I would have found the girl," he said, silently promising himself that he would do whatever it takes to find her.


	2. The Boy

**im uploading another chapter cause i have nothing else better to do and i have like four chapters already edited and everything. =] heres a gift to all who wanted it. i may not get reviews! but that wont stop me from posting. hahah and to clarify if your wondering. i made connect 3 all be brothers just to make it easier.**

**hmm. mitchie meets shane in this one? what did you say!? wooooo!**

**Chapter Two: The Boy**

**Saturday – 10:47 am**

The following day, Mitchie and Caitlyn were lounging around Caitlyn's room. Caitlyn stomped around her room, fuming at her parents. Taking her frustration out on her friend, Caitlyn proceeded to throw a pillow at her. "Mitchie Jordan, you are so not helping at all!" she complained.

Mitchie sat atop her friend's bed, dangling her head over the edge while continuing to lick a purple lollipop.

"What do you expect me to do?" the brunette asked.

"Get me out of this freak show!"

"Not going to happen, CC. Your sister is set on going to that Meet 'n' Greet for Connect 3."

Caitlyn snapped her fingers, apparently she had an idea. "I know; you are coming with me!"

"WHAT?!" Mitchie screeched, twitching so suddenly that she fell off the bed.

Caitlyn was already calling her seven year-old sister into her room. The small replica of Caitlyn bounced through the door.

"Ev, how would you like if it Mitchie came with us?"

Evan squealed. "Yeah! That means my friend Tanya can come!"

She turned around quickly, leaving a mass of raven hair flying behind her.

"I hate you," grumbled Mitchie from the floor.

"We can call Lola and make her come too."

"That's not going to be hard, Lo would probably love going to this stupid thing. Ugh, I hate these things. I do not wanna suffer through hordes of people and screaming children for four hours for someone who won't even be popular in ten years."

"It's okay, you aren't going to die. It's just a meet 'n' greet. At least it's not the concert."

"That is very true. Anyways, I'm bringing the Stones with me," she stated, pointing to her black Rolling Stones tee. "No point in attempting to look cute for some Teeny Boppers."

"I'll call Lola and we can jet," Caitlyn said, adjusting her form fitting grey jacket.

"If we're going, I'm driving your car," Mitchie said, plucking the keys out of Caitlyn's hand. "God, I can't believe I'm going to a Teeny Bopper meet 'n' greet." She looked upward. "Please forgive me Journey, for I am going to sin."

Caitlyn rolled her bright blue eyes. "Stop being such a drama queen."

**

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Saturday – 11:35 am

"Everyone ready?" the brothers' mom asked. "Now remember, Connect 3 isn't scheduled to sign until 1:00! Have fun!"

The whole Gray clan was gathered in the tour bus, ready to exit and meet the mass of screaming fans that stood on the other side. The Meet 'n' Greet was already taking place; their opening acts were out there preparing the fans for them.

Shane could already hear all the screams and shouts for 'CONNECT 3', he loved this. The fans, the energy, the music, everything. He played and sang for the love of it all, not for the money or for the fame. All those fans that he had inspired with their songs made him want to inspire them for the rest of his life. He could do this every day.

"Shane?" his mother wondered, standing in front of him.

"Yeah?"

"You ready?"

"Ready as always," he said smiling.

"Okay, good. Let's go children!"

Shane filed out of the bus behind Nate. The moment his feet hit the ground, girls and boys, alike, went absolutely crazy. Their screams all mixed together. Shane heard 'Look this way!' 'I love you guys!' 'Can I get a picture with you?' Shane smiled and said hello to all of their fans. They were informed before they left the bus that they would not be allowed to talk with the fans, since they were on a tight schedule. Shane found that ridiculous.

Shane spotted out an adorable little girl with curly red hair. She stood shyly behind her mother. He bent down to her level and said gently, "Hey there. I'm Shane, who are you?"

"I'm Dani," she said softly, still hiding behind her mother's leg.

"Do you think I could take a picture with you?" Shane wondered casually.

Dani's brown eyes widened. A beautiful smile plastered on her face as she asked her mother if she could. Her mother nodded and smiled at Shane.

Shane easily scooped up the tiny girl and focused his smile on the mother's camera. After the flash had gone off a couple times he set Dani back on the ground. He reached back into his pocket and pulled out a small beaded bracelet. Bending down to her ear, Shane whispered, "This is a very special bracelet. I made it a couple years ago. Will you keep it safe for me?"

She nodded her curly head happily. Shane quickly took out his own camera and took a picture of the little girl with his bracelet.

This is why Shane loved what he did. Seeing that little girl get so happy over a bracelet made his year.

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Saturday – 12:02 pm

Mitchie pulled into the Tanner's driveway not even ten minutes later. She honked five times, hoping it was annoying Caitlyn.

"Lo in the house!" Lola shouted sliding into the backseat of the SUV, her dark blond hair swishing madly.

She noticed the two tiny girls. "What are we doing?"

"Connect 3 Meet 'n' Greet," said Mitchie dully.

"OH MY GOD! NO WAY! I'm so happy!" she screamed. "Since you guys didn't let me stay at school yesterday to see them, I still get to see them today!"

Mitchie made a gagging noise. "I can't believe we're friends."

"Mo, just because she doesn't sing about sex, drugs, and getting drunk doesn't mean she isn't good," Lola declared.

Mitchie glared at the bubbly blond.

"Oh, come on," Caitlyn said, "It's not that bad."

"Are we almost there?" Evan asked excitedly.

"No," snapped Mitchie, deliberately going three mph under the speed limit.

Caitlyn narrowed her eyes at the chestnut haired girl, turning to her sister she said, "Ten minutes."

"God, this car needs some music," complained Lola, leaning through the middle of the front seats, fiddling with the dials.

"Hey! I was listening to that!" shouted Mitchie.

"Sorry, wailing about drugs doesn't count as music."

"It's Def Leppard!"

"It's definitely deaf something."

A bounce of music jolted through the SUV. "CONNECT 3!" shouted Evan, Lola, and Tanya.

"Leave it," Caitlyn warned Mitchie.

"You need to look on the bright side of this Mo," advised Lola, bopping her head to the music.

"What?" she asked darkly, her hands gripping the steering wheel.

"There might be some cute boys there, scratch that the cute boys are Connect 3."

"I hardly doubt that."

"You are such a fun killer, aren't you?"  
"We're here!" squealed Tanya.

Mitchie brought the Liberty Ford to a complete stop. Tanya and Evan were already jumping out of the car, heading toward the mall.

"Stay close!" Caitlyn yelled to her sister.

"Come on Mr. Grumpy Pants," Lola said, literally pulling Mitchie out of the car.

Caitlyn linked Mitchie's arm with hers, Lola did too. "Try to at least look happy."

Mitchie plastered a huge, scary smile on her face for a second.

"Okay, you're going to scare people like that."

"I'll be in the record store if you need me." With that, the brunette headed far away from the main event.

"I can't believe we still even have a record store here," said Lola.

Caitlyn wrapped her arm around her friend. "Let her mope. We got some Teeny Boppers to watch."

Laughing, the pair made their way into the surprisingly big mall for a small town. A huge banner in blue and silver lettering read:

_Connect 3 Meet 'n' Greet_

_12:00 – 3:00 in the Macy's_

_Juniors Department_

They found the little girls and stood in line behind them. The line looked endless, moving slowly toward Macy's.

"Are they having a concert while their in town?" wondered Lola all too seriously.

Caitlyn focused her blue eyes on her friend. "Are you serious?"

"Why would I not be?"

Caitlyn sighed. "They mentioned something about a concert yesterday when they came to school. Plus, usually when people have meet 'n' greets, it means they are here for a concert. So, duah."

"Shut up. Is Evan going?"

"Psht, are you kidding me?" laughed Caitlyn. "My parents would never pay for that. They didn't even want to take her to this thing."

"I would love to go to her concert."

"Lo, you're eighteen."

The blond girl shrugged. "Yeah, and?"

"Most eighteen year olds don't go to see Connect 3 in concert."

"Are you putting me in a stereotype?"

Caitlyn laughed. "Oh my stars."

"Just because I'm eighteen and a senior doesn't mean I don't like Connect 3."

"Just because I'm sixteen and a junior doesn't mean I particularly care."

Lola slapped her playfully. "I hate you."

"Love you too. Now, hurry up!"

**

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Saturday – 12:08 pm

"We are so ahead of schedule it isn't even funny," Jason laughed, lounging around the room.

Their parents walked over to them, clipboards in hand. "Okay, since we are a little ahead of schedule, we thought it would be okay to let you boys wander the mall. Just try to dress down and be secretive. Don't be all obnoxious and have people notice you. Play it cool. We have some things for you boys to wear." Dad gestured to the rack of clothing behind him. "We had the mall pick out some things that teenage boys usually wear."

"Can't we just wear what we have on?" asked Nate.

"Nate, you boys dress like you're from a different time period. That is way too obvious. Here," Mom said, throwing some jeans and a hoodie at Nate, "wear that."

"How does this look?" Shane asked. He modeled off his idea, a dark blue knit hat, distressed jeans [not skinny], and a Beetles graphic tee.

"You look like someone who goes to a coffeehouse," joked Jason.

"Wait! How bout this too?" He placed a fake moustache above his upper lip.

"That doesn't give you away at all," Nate said trying not to laugh.

Mom handed them each a watch. "A beeper will go off when we need you to come back to the room. Now, go and have some fun!"

Each boy grabbed their watch and bolted out of the room. Jason ran off to the left, Nate to the right, and Shane continued going straight down the main part of the mall. He spotted a record store up ahead. He smiled, he loved old records.

**

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Saturday – 12:17 pm

"Stupid friends," Mitchie muttered to herself as she flicked through some Led Zeppelin records, "making me come see Connect 3. Honestly, do they not know me?"

"I take it you're not a Connect 3 fan."

Her hand slipped off the current record she was holding.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Slowly turning around, trying to figure out the quickest escape incase it was a really weird person, Mitchie faced her intruder. Instantly sizing him up, she noted that, sadly, he was actually very attractive. His dark brown almost black hair peeked out from underneath his dark blue knit cap. It fell attractively over his extremely bushy eyebrows that Mitchie had always had a soft spot for. Looking up into his light brown eyes, she felt herself blush. Finishing off the inspection, she checked out his Beetles graphic tee. She was in love already.

"Are you?" she asked, wondering why someone this good looking was talking to her.

"Am I what?" Bushy Eyes wondered, grabbing the record that had fallen out of her hand.

Their hands brushed causing an insane amount of heat to travel to Mitchie's cheeks. She gulped before saying, "A Connect 3 fan?"

"Would you kill me if I say yes?" he asked jokingly, eyes twinkling.

Mitchie smiled feeling herself relax. "No."

"Then I'd have to say I am."

"How come you're not standing in line to meet them then?"

Bushy Eyes took a pause before he answered. "Too long of a line."

Mitchie nodded, wondering, again, why he was still talking to her.

Not that she was hoping he would walk away. "Something tells me you were dragged here."

Nodding again, she said, "My friends sister loves them, and they were oh-so kind to drag me along."

"I thought I heard you mumbling about friends."

Ignoring the comment about him eavesdropping, she asked, "Why are you here exactly? You don't seem like the type to just come to this sort of thing."

"Well, I would have to say you don't know me well enough to make that assumption. And plus my brother likes them," he offered easily, not trying to sound mean.

"So you have a younger brother?" Mitchie asked curiously. "Who likes a boy band, that's not weird at all?" She had no idea where this sudden burst of being a conversationalist was coming from. She usually left Lola to bounce on the boys.

"I didn't mean it like that," he quickly said. "He is young and doesn't know any better. And yeah, I have three actually."

"Oldest?"

"No," he shook his head. "I have one older brother."

"I'm the oldest sadly."

"You have younger brothers?"

"Try two younger sisters and a younger brother."

"Mo!" shouted Caitlyn from the front of the record store. The two watched Caitlyn as she pushed her you way to them. "Hey, I knew I would find you here," she said smiling triumphantly. "Lola is with the kids. I told her I would check up on you; make sure you weren't dying from boredom. But it looks like aren't very bored at all."

Mitchie rolled her eyes. She knew that look on her friends face. It was the one she got when she was secretly planning something in her head, but Mitchie always knew what she was up too.

"Who's your friend?" Caitlyn asked, blue eyes widening.

Speechless, Mitchie made some weird noise and a hand gesture. She hadn't even thought about asking him his name.

He jumped right in, not missing a beat. "I'm Shane."

"Caitlyn."

"Mitchie," she said sheepishly.

Very discreetly, Caitlyn began to inch away. "I'll be over there, looking at, um, shoes?"

Mitchie laughed at her friends attempt to be sneaky.

"Mitchie, huh?" he wondered smiling.

"Ugh, I know. Disgusting."

"It's definitely not disgusting. I love it, very unique. At least you're not stuck with such a common name."

"I better go," she said awkwardly after a couple seconds of silence.

"Okay," Shane said, sounding sad.

"See you around?"

"Yeah, maybe," he said, knowing it wasn't very likely.

"Bye Shane!" called Mitchie, walking to Caitlyn.

"Bye Mitchie."

**

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**

Saturday – 12:25 pm

Shane watched her retreating back exit the store. She had gorgeous brown hair that cascaded down her dark shoulders, ending mid-back. He loved that she wasn't even trying hard to be beautiful, but that it just came naturally to her. She wore hardly any make up, and Shane couldn't imagine someone more beautiful.

He wished he could have stayed and talked to her just a little bit longer, to get to know her a little better. And figure out if she wanted to maybe do something later. But that opportunity had already slipped away from him. Jogging to the entrance of the store, he gazed out into the mall, looking for that familiar brunette head. She was no where in sight.

Feeling defeated, the beeper when off. He checked both ways before walking back to the room.

**

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**

Saturday – 12:25pm

"Who was he?" Caitlyn asked eagerly. "He was totally cute!"

Mitchie shrugged, hoping she didn't look like she cared too much. "Random dude came up and started talking to me."

"Oh, Mo is pulling in the guys now. Wait until Lo hears this."

"How come you came to get me?"

"I thought you would be bored. Lo also mentioned she wanted to traipse over to Wet Seal. So that leaves you in charge of the little ones."

"Ugh," moaned Mitchie, "you two suck."

"It won't be too long, maybe that boy will come back and find you," Caitlyn said, eyes twinkling.

"Oh shut it," Mitchie said, secretly hoping he would.

**

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**

Saturday – 12:34 pm

"Mo met a boy!" sang Caitlyn as Lola and she prowled the racks at Wet Seal.

"No way!" exclaimed Lola. "Cute?"

"Very, and he seemed her type."

"Wow, that's hard to imagine."

Caitlyn gave Lo a look that read 'be nice'.

"What! I'm just surprised."

"Okay, there's nothing good here."

"I know," Lola said sadly.

Lola's cell phone rang leaving the store. "Hey Mo!" she chirped.

"Oh my Lanta, okay we're on our way!"  
"What?" wondered Caitlyn.

"They are 20th in line! We need to hurry up!"

Caitlyn let Lola drag her through the mall, all the way to Macy's. Caitlyn spotted Mitchie in line, looking about ready to shoot herself.

"We've come to relieve you from your duties mi lady," said Lola playfully.

"Finally, standing in line with screaming girls makes me want to smoke, and I don't even smoke," stated Mitchie.

"Connect 3 is right there!" screamed Evan.

"Woo! Connect 3!" Mitchie yelled sarcastically. "All this excitement makes me never want to have children."

"Oh, go wallow somewhere else."

"Gladly, call me when you're done."

"And then Mitchie was gone," announced Lola.


	3. The Girl

**yet another chapter. and this will be my last one cause im going out of town for a couple days. i know this must be asking alot but please review. =] i wanna know what people think of the story. okay loves. enjoy the 3. i gotta goo!**

**Chapter Three: The Girl**

**Saturday – 12:45 pm**

"Dudes!" Shane exclaimed upon running into the meeting room that had been designated for them.

"Where have you been?" Jason asked.

"I just met this girl."

"Was it the girl with the voice," sniggered Nate, taking a stab at his pride.

Shane glared at him. "No," he said hotly.

Jason jumped in. "You always meet girls though."

"She wasn't just any girl. This girl, she was so different. Not like all those other girls. And get this. I don't think she even recognized me."

"YEAH! Shane gets brownie points for meeting a girl who doesn't know him," Jason said.

"Shut up, man."

"Leave him alone Jason, Shane has been searching for love forever," Nate explained with a hint of sarcasm.

"It's not love Nate, I just, I don't know. I mean, she was so different."

"So you mentioned," Jason mumbled.

Shane kept on talking over Jason. "She wasn't stuck up or freakishly preppy. She seemed normal, almost down to earth. And, boys, she is gorgeous. Extremely gorgeous."

"Shane likes a girl!" sang Jason. "What's her name?"

"Mitchie," he said breathlessly.

"Hmm, that's weird," said Jason bluntly.

"Is she coming to the meet 'n' greet?"

"No, she's not a big fan of us. She isn't a big fan of much pop music, I don't think. She seemed more of the old rocker type. I found her in the classical rock section."

"Sounds like a story to tell the children," smiled Nate.

Shane glared at his younger brother.

"Well, man, did you get her number?"

Shane shook his head sadly.

"You're screwed dude," Nate stated.

Mitchie wandered around the mall aimlessly, practically walking right into a column jutting out from one of the stores. She narrowly missed it, saving her a load of humiliation.

"What is wrong with me?" she asked herself.

A voice sounding very much like Lola bounced into her head. "You are infatuated already my young darling." Yeah that sounded like exactly something Lola would say to her. She didn't know why she was thinking about this boy so much.

She had met him, what, nearly half an hour ago, and all her thoughts were about him. What was wrong with her? Lola was the one to get all boy crazy. She never got this much attention from a boy, ever. Not even when she was dating that one kid or that other one. She couldn't even remember their names now.

"This is ridiculous!" she shouted to no one in particular, earning her some awkward stares from passing shoppers. "I must be going crazy. Well I already am, since I'm talking to myself now. Oh lord, look at what this boy has done to me."

She pulled out her cell phone, wondering how much longer the signing was going to be and praying that it would end soon. She needed to get out of here. She needed fresh air.

Shane sat by himself with his guitar in a secluded area of the meeting room, all the others had gone down to make-up to prepare for the signings.

The guitar in his hands belted out a simple yet beautiful melody. Something new he had thought of. Inspired by the girl with the voice, he matched his own melody to hers. Hoping that one day he would actually find the girl and sing with her.

Strumming his strong hands against the strings felt perfect. The song in his mind was coming to life in his hands. He closed his eyes, relishing the moment. All he could see when he closed his eyes was Mitchie. Her bright green eyes. Her long, wavy brown hair. Her cute Rolling Stones shirt. Everything about her floated around in his mind, creating a block from his music flow.

Frustrated, he tossed his guitar aside. Why was this girl consuming his every thought? Shane usually wasn't easily besotted with girls. That was Jason. He was the ladies man. Shane never knew what to say to them. He was the joker of the group, not the chick magnet.

And with this one girl, everything seemed to go down south. He hadn't even felt funny enough to her, and that was always his strong spot. This girl was driving him crazy.

He picked up his guitar again, eager to get his thoughts off Mitchie. Playing the first couple chords he began to sing along.

'_You're the voice I hear inside my head_

_The reason that I'm singing_

_I need to find you, I gotta find you_

_You're the missing piece I need_

_The song inside of me_

_I need to find you, I gotta find you'_

"Shane?"

Shane jumped at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Nate said, appearing from behind the makeshift curtain.

"Its okay man, I just didn't know it was you."

"New song?" he asked, taking a seat next to Shane, pulling the guitar from his brother's hands.

"Yeah actually."

"In memory of the girl with the voice?"

Shane made a face at him. "How do you know?"  
"Are you kidding? Just listen to the lyrics," Nate said. "You're the voice I hear inside my head. Come on Shane, anyone could figure that out."

"Yeah, I guess so." He turned to face his younger brother. "Nate, I don't know what to do. I can't stop thinking about her."

Nate shifted the guitar so it was sitting on his hip. "I don't know what to tell you bro. We have no clue where she would be. I'm really sorry though."

"Why?"

"You seem to really like her already, and we all know that it usually takes you forever to even show interest in a girl."

Shane narrowed his eyes at him.

"I mean that in the nicest way possible. You and I both know that Jason is the one with all the girls. You know that I absolutely suck at relationships. But I can tell that you really do like her, which is really good. I'm very happy for you but it sucks at the same time."

"I know, you're telling me."

"Nate! Shane!" the voice of their mother called. "We need you in two minutes!"

"Be there in one!" shouted Shane standing. "Hey, thanks for the advice or insight or whatever you just gave me."

Nate smiled. "It's what brothers are for."

The two hugged each other, not caring how gay they might have looked. "Let's do this more often. I need more advice than you think."

Laughing, Nate agreed. "And you can help me to not suck in relationships."

"Deal," Shane said, taking his guitar back from Nate. "Now let's go make some girls very happy."

"And now Connect 3 will be ending their signing in two minutes!" announced a girl at the head of the table. "Get your autographs now while you can!"

Evan, Tanya, and Lola squealed like little girls, only two of them were young enough to be able to squeal. There was only one person between them and the celebrities. Caitlyn rolled her eyes. People can be so ridiculously obsessed with famous people that it's sickening.

Caitlyn's eye found the table. It was a long table, covered in a blue and silver cloth that hung to the floor. The front of the cloth said 'CONNECT 3 MEET'N'GREET' in big, bold, and black lettering. Caitlyn saw three boys seated along the line and wondered how bored they must be.

The first boy was a ridiculously cute, curly headed boy. She had no idea who he was, but wished she did. Evan stood in front of him, her eyes wide as saucers.

"What's your name sweetie?" he asked, his voice was adorable.

"Evan," she squeaked.

Caitlyn held back her laugh. She knew this was a huge moment for her sister. It's not everyday you get to meet Connect 3.

Evan moved on to the next boy. He looked exactly the same as the one that sat next to him. She could tell that he was older though; his face was more structured than the younger one. His brown eyes glowed when he smiled at Evan, laughing at something she said. The curly brown hair on his head bounced when he laughed. Caitlyn liked him.

Evan finished with that brother and moved to the last one. He looked –OH MY STARS IT WAS THE BOY THAT TALKED TO MITCHIE. Practically beside herself that Mitchie met an extremely gorgeous famous boy, she felt a wave of excitement creep into her.

Shane looked up and instantly caught her eye. She smiled. Putting her brain to work, she tried to come up with something insanely masterful.

Caitlyn was almost in front of Shane. She grabbed Lola's arm, who was chatting up the boy beside Shane. She said, quite loudly, "Oh my stars, Lo I have the best idea! Since we dragged Mitchie to this thing today, I say we treat her to a movie tonight!"

"Perfect!" she shouted. "Prom Night?"

"Of course, you know Mo has a guilty pleasure for Brittany Snow movies," Caitlyn said. She deliberately faced Shane saying, "I think it's at 7:20, at the Regal Theater."

Shane smiled as he signed a piece of paper for Tanya.

"Okay, I'm excited! Mo is going to love us!" smile Lola.

Caitlyn and Shane connected eyes for a brief moment. "Oh, she is going to absolutely love us forever Lo."

"Mo we have a surprise for you!" sang Lola.

"What?" moaned Mitchie. "Do we have tickets to go see Connect 3?"

"Oh, stop being a baby. You're going to love this idea, I swear! 7:20, at Regal, us three, Prom Night!"

"No way."  
"Yes way!"

"Ah, I love you guys! Best surprise all day!" she said hugging her two best friends.

"Oh, the surprises aren't even done yet," muttered Caitlyn to herself, grinning.

"Come on boys! Get up! We're going out tonight!" yelled Shane through the cramped room of the tour bus.

Nate had been lounging on his bed, strumming some chords on his guitar when Shane burst through the door. He practically fell off the bunk from the noise of Shane. "What? What are you talking about?"

"You remember those two girls we had last today? I met the raven haired girl before. She's friends with Mitchie."

"Oh, I remember them. The blond was gorgeous, and she was talking me up too," Jason said smiling.

"Well, you still haven't told us why were going out."

"Caitlyn, that's the raven haired girl, told her friend that she wanted to take Mitchie out to a movie tonight. Kind of a gift for making her come to the meet 'n' greet today."

"How do you figure you were invited? Or are you stalking her now, because that's much creepier than being invited."

"Caitlyn looked right at me and said the movie, time, and place."

"Oh, so she is kinda setting Mitchie up to be disappointed," Jason said nonchalantly.

Shane punched him in the arm. "Come on. We gotta go. Just do this for me this one time. I never ask you guys to do anything for me."

Nate looked at him suspiciously. "What about that one time in New Mexico?"

"Or that one time in Iowa?" added Jason. "I vaguely remember you asking us to 'pretty please come to dinner with this one girl, I'll never ask you guys to do anything again', yeah I clearly remember that."

"Oh, I remember that dinner. Worst of my life," said Nate.

"Please guys," begged Shane. "I promise this one will be worth going too."

"I think I've heard that one too, in Maine. Oh yeah," Jason started.

"Shut up Jason, this really will be a good one." He turned to Nate. "Please?"

"Shane, you do know we are only here for one more night, right?"

"I know but guys were in Jersey. This tour is almost over, and when we're done I can come back home and see her."

"You're practically in love already," Nate said. "It's kind of cute."

"So you will come?" he asked eagerly.

Nate and Jason glanced at each other and slowly nodded. "What movie?"

"Prom Night at 7:20."

"What time is it now?"

Shane checked his watch. "Five till seven."

"Well, I'm ready," Jason said. "How bout you, Priss?"

Nate narrowed his dark brown eyes at his oldest brother. "I'm ready too."

"Okay, I'm going to go beg mom for a car. Then we'll be on our way."

"Whose excited for Prom Night?!"

"ME!" shouted Mitchie. "I'm so excited! I've wanted to see this movie forever!"

"Me dose!" agreed Lola. "It looks so scary though."

"I'm so glad schools almost over. Oh my Lanta, our prom is coming up Mo. This better not ruin my idea of prom," Lola warned them.

"I'm sure it won't."

"I completely forgot prom is in a week," sighed Mitchie. "And I still haven't got a date. Even Caitlyn does, and it's not even her prom."

"Oh, you do too. That Jake boy asked you, didn't he?"

"He did."

"Didn't you say yes?"

"I did."

"Well, I consider that a date."

"Ugh, not really. I don't want to go with him. He's so blah."

"Oh, just deal with it. Don't hang out with him at all. We can hook you up with someone much better at prom."

"Okay," sighed Mitchie. "Are we there yet?"

Caitlyn parked. "YES!"

"WOO! Movie time!"

Caitlyn jumped out of the drivers seat and glanced around the crowded parking lot, wondering. "Lo is paying tonight!" she shouted and ran off ahead to the entrance.

* * *

Saturday – 7:15 pm

* * *

Saturday – 6:45 pm

* * *

Saturday – 3:10 pm

* * *

Saturday – 2:58 pm

* * *

Saturday – 12:57 pm

* * *

Saturday – 12:52 pm


	4. The Stalker

**yeahh another chapter! and thanks to all who reviewed my story. =] this one is a bit shorter than the others. but this one is definitely fluffy!! WOO! hope you like it.**

**Chapter Four: The Stalker**

**7:15pm**

"Let's get the back!" shouted Mitchie, racing Lola up the stairs and to the seats.

Caitlyn followed slowly behind her two friends, searching the theater for Shane. There was no site of the straight haired rock star anywhere.

"Maybe he is just late," she said aloud.

"CC, you get the middle!" exclaimed Lola. A few people around her hissed their disapproval of her noise. "Oh, hush it."

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and settled in between Lola and Mitchie. "Good thing! I'm going to be the most afraid."

"What time is it?" asked Mitchie impatiently.

"7:15, previews will start in five," Caitlyn answered, glancing around the theater again.

"What are you looking for?" Mitchie wondered curiously.

"Oh, nothing," Caitlyn blurted. "It's quite crowded, isn't it?"

Lola shot Caitlyn an odd look. She motioned with her eyes to the stairs at the bottom of the theater. Caitlyn looked where she was motioning. Three people had just walked out from the hallway. They glanced around, looking completely lost.

Caitlyn almost laughed. They looked helpless.

The lights dimmed before they noticed where Caitlyn and her friends were sitting. Caitlyn sighed, hoping they would have been smarter and walked up here anyway. The theater was almost packed full for the exception of a seat on Mitchie's left and two to the right of Lola. They obviously had been outsmarted by the theater.

Finally, Caitlyn noticed their movement up the stairs.

"I'm going to the bathroom real quick," she announced.

Her friends nodded, already staring at the screen with rapt attention.

Caitlyn passed Shane on the stairwell. "In the corner," she muttered.

**

* * *

**

7:20pm

Shane smiled happily at Caitlyn. She saved him a lifetime of humiliation from his brothers. He was also very glad to not have been recognized yet. All he wanted to do this evening was hang out with Mitchie and to not be interrupted by hordes of fans. He loves his fans, don't doubt that. He just wants to have time with Mitchie since he will be leaving the next day.

Moving cautiously down the back row of the theater, he spotted her. His breath caught in his throat just from a glance. She was on the edge of her seat, staring, transfixed, at the screen. He couldn't get over how beautiful she looked.

He sat down next to her tentatively. Jason took the seat between Mitchie and her blond friend while Nate sat a space between the blond. How very thoughtful, he was letting Caitlyn sit next to her friend.

Mitchie glanced at him as he sat down. She gave him an odd stare as if trying to figure out who he was. He didn't know exactly what to say to her. Good thing she beat him to it.

"Hey, you're that guy from the record store," Mitchie said, not believing her eyes. "Shane, right?"

"Exactly," he chuckled, loving how her eyebrows scrunched up when she thought about something.

"Are you stalking me?" she asked seriously.

Shane didn't know how to answer to that. Of course he wasn't stalking her, but then again, why was he here?

He knew the answer to that though. It was simple. Ever since he had met this girl, he could not get her off his mind. She was nothing like all the other girls he had ever met before. There was something so entrancing about her that he just needed to know more about her. He didn't know why he was acting like this over some girl he had met today. He couldn't explain it.

The other reason for his sudden infatuation; she was ridiculously gorgeous. Tonight, Mitchie wore a small, snug fitting tank and black skinny jeans that disappeared into black boots. She looked effortlessly adorable.

"I'm just kidding," she said, laughing. "But seriously, why are you here?"

"My brother, Nate, loves these movies."

"The same one that likes Connect 3?"

Shane laughed; she remembered their conversation from earlier. "Yes, that's the one."

"Are you sure he isn't gay?"

"I'm pretty sure," Shane said, peering down the row to find Nate stealing glances at Caitlyn. "We just like to tease him."

She laughed. Shane loved the sound of it. "Do you live around here? I don't think I've ever seen you around before."

"My brothers and I travel a lot, but we actually live not too far from here. Bout a forty five to an hour drive to our house."

"Cool, you gonna be in town for awhile?"

"We're leaving late tomorrow night."

Mitchie's smile fell. "That's too bad."

Shane detected sadness in her voice which made him happy. Weird right?

"I'm warning you ahead of time," began Mitchie. "I can get pretty spooked. So if I latch onto your arm or scream in your ear, I apologize now. And I give you full permission to push me off of you."

He laughed quietly, knowing that he was in no way going to willingly push her off of him. "I'm definitely okay with that," he said.

Mitchie smiled at him, not believing that he was actually here. She felt so confident and sure of herself when she talked with him. Unlike times in the past where she wouldn't even be able to form two words when talking to a boy. With Shane, everything seemed easier and fun. Shane was so genuine and down to earth; she couldn't believe her luck at all. From the moment he had spoke to her, his voice had haunted her mind. She hadn't stopped thinking about their encounter in the record store.

The rest of the lights disappeared, leaving the glow of the screen the only source of light. Mitchie squealed and hid her face in Shane's arm. She inhaled a delicious smell, pine and fresh soap. It was so inviting she could practically eat it. The scent managed to make her forget all other thoughts.

"I hate when it does that," she whispered. "It's always so unexpected."

"Nothing has even come on the screen yet," Shane said, mocking her.

She glared at him, her emerald green eyes glittering in the light from the screen. "It's just the fact that it gets completely dark so quickly. Sudden darkness always gives me the creeps."

"It's okay, you are allowed to be afraid of the dark. I mean you are only like fourteen right?"

Mitchie made an odd noise. "I am not fourteen! I am seventeen actually, thank you very much."

"Sorry, my mistake," Shane said laughing.

"Oh, you are so not funny," said Mitchie, facing the screen and attempting not to smile. She lost that battle.

"People usually tell me that I am the funny one," he said, his face falling.

She giggled. "Who told you that? Cause they obviously were making a mistake."

"I'm appalled at you. You're the first person to think I'm not funny."

"Maybe all the other people were just pretending."

Shane thought deeply about her statement. Part of it was probably right. All the fans were always tripping over each other telling him how funny he was. Maybe they were just pretending.

"I guess we will never truly know."

She shrugged her slim shoulders, turning her attention to the beginning of the movie. She had to look at something other than Shane's smoldering brown eyes. One look at them and she felt herself melt instantly. Thinking straight was not an option when being gazed upon in that way.

The opening credits started. The movie already had Mitchie's full attention. Within the first ten minutes, she hid herself behind Shane's arm.

"That man is so twisted!" she whispered in his ear. "People really are sick."

Shane's body tingled from her hot breath on his ear. The good kind of tingle too. He had the biggest urge to wrap his arm around her shoulders but felt it was too soon for that kind of gesture.

Maybe the next ten minutes and he would work up the courage to do it.

"That poor girl, I would be terrified for the rest of my life."

"Do you always talk through movies like this?"

"Habit," she confessed shyly. "I'll try to shut up now."

"No. I like it. I think it's adorable."

Mitchie felt her cheeks heat up. Thank goodness for the darkness of theaters. She squeezed Shane's arm as scary music spread throughout the theater.

"You scared?" he whispered to her.

"Not anymore. It's happy time. They are going to prom!"

Some minutes later she freaked again. "OMG! That's the guy! It's her stalker! How did he get out!?"

Shane loved her commentary. He watched her movements more than the actual movie. He only knew what was going on from Mitchie's commentary.

Moving along the storyline, Mitchie's fingers moved up and down Shane's arm, causing him to have pleasant shivers travel down his spine. He silently wished she would finally grab his hand and end his misery.

"Oh she is so dead. Go with your friend! You are so stupid!"

Mitchie jumped so badly when the stalker attacked the girl. She wrapped her arms all the way around Shane's body, pressing her head into his chest. Poking her head out from her hiding place, she noticed everything was okay on the screen. After a second she realized the predicament she was in. Trying to play off her embarrassment, she quickly entangled herself muttering her apologies.

Shane laughed quietly. "It's okay, don't worry about it."

For awhile the two kept to themselves. Mitchie had no more commentary, and Shane sadly watched her from the corner of his eye. He took the chance to really look at her. Even in the dark he noticed a spray of freckles on her nose. She had a pair of dimples that made her smile even that more gorgeous. Her long brown hair fell into waves at the ends, making it look bouncy. He wanted to run his hands through it to see how soft it really was.

His thoughts were interrupted with another tense moment. Mitchie yelped and grabbed onto Shane's hand without hesitation. She glanced down and pulled her hand partly off his. Thanking his quick reflexes, Shane caught her hand before she could place it in her lap. They laced together perfectly, resting on Shane's thigh. Her heart quickened at the sudden action. Their fingers fit together like they were made for each other. She loved the feel of his rough hand holding hers.

Turning their heads back to the movie, they saw the stalker kill one of the maids at the hotel. Every other shot was of him killing someone else.

Shane felt Mitchie twitch against him which he soon discovered was her shivering. "You cold?"  
"A little, I'll be okay. These theaters are always freezing," she said, teeth chattering.

"Here," said Shane, putting his arm around her shoulders, perfect opportunity. "I'll keep you warm."

He pulled her into his side, causing her to inhale his scrumptious scent. She felt faint and dizzy.

He rubbed his course hand up and down her arm, attempting to cease the shivers that plagued her body. Not knowing that he made her shivers even worse just by touching her.

"Better?" he asked softly.

"Much, thank you."

In between the time when the main character went up to the suite to look for her friend and driving home in a cop car, Mitchie bravely grabbed Shane's other hand. Their hands lay together on Shane's stomach. He gently rubbed his thumb on her palm.

She faced upward looking him in the eyes, from her position on his chest. "How come your hands are so rough?"

"I play guitar."

"You any good?"

"Somewhat," Shane stated.

"I wanna hear you play."

"Okay," he smiled. "Do you play any?"

"Some, I'm rather bad at it. I prefer singing."

"Maybe I can teach you to play. You a decent singer?"

"Some days, if I wanna be."

Shane laughed. "I would love to hear you sing."

The topic of singing made Shane think to his lost hope of finding the voice. He had all but given up on ever finding her. The song he wrote about still played a constant loop in his mind. He wished that by singing that song she would be drawn to him.

Oh well. Not all dreams come true. He decided to watch the ending of the movie. The main character backed into a closet, where the stalker grabbed her from behind. Mitchie buried her face in his shirt again. He looked down on her and smiled, forgetting completely about his search for the voice. Running his hand through her hair, he came to the conclusion that it was most definitely the softest thing ever.

"Come on detective! You gotta go back to the room! She's in the closet! Well now she's on the floor. She can kick some butt! That's right, you go girl!"

A couple minutes later the credits began to roll. All around them people stood, stretching their bodies, preparing to leave the theater. Mitchie and Shane both sat still, not wanting to ruin their perfect moment.

"Mo, let's go girl," Caitlyn said, standing extremely close to the curly headed brother. Mitchie had a feeling she knew what was going on with them.

The four other friends smiled happily at the pair. Mitchie's eyes fell on Lola who was leaning against the taller brother. He whispered something to Lola which made her giggle. Seems like her friends had a good time too.

She finally rose from her seat, followed quickly by Shane.

"Let's get out of here. I'm freezing," she stated to the crowd, rubbing her arms.

Her friends led the way out, followed closely by the brothers, Mitchie and Shane.


	5. The Realization

**thanks to everyone who reviewed!! yeah!! im gonna need to start writing some more chapters! but heres another one for all you people who just cant wait any longer. =] i have a feeling your going to like this one a lot.**

**Chapter Five: The Realization**

**9:02pm**

The restful night air felt good on Mitchie's cold bones. She maneuvered her way to her friends who instantly interrogated her with a million and one questions. Ignoring their obnoxious questions, she twirled around in the parking lot feeling elated. Happiness seemed to leak through her dance steps. Her friends quickly joined her joyous moves.

"Why are we dancing?" Lola asked.

"Why not? Dancing is fun!" exclaimed Mitchie.

Caitlyn grabbed her by the shoulders. "Is everything okay with you?"

"Everything is perfectly okay with me," she said smiling.

A pair of hands grabbed her hips. She jumped from the touch. She turned to find Shane smiling at her innocently. "Do you mind if I dance with you?"

She shook her head seemingly unable to form words. Shane placed his hands back on her hips while Mitchie wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He leaned his face to her ear. "Do you want to get out of here?"

"Yes," she breathed.

They stepped apart from each other and Shane announced, "We're gonna get out of here, guys."

His brother's nodded in agreement looking to Mitchie's friends to see what they were doing.

Lola asked first, "What are you going to do?"

She shrugged. "I'll see you later."

"No later than one, missy," Caitlyn said, giving her a hug. "Have fun. I love you."

Lola embraced her too. "Be good. I expect a full report later. Love you girl!"

"I love you guys too. See you later."

"Bye dudes," Shane told his brothers, giving them each a manly handshake.

Shane put his arm around Mitchie, loving the feel of her skin beneath his fingers. Mitchie's friends and Shane's brothers walked off in the opposite direction of the pair.

"Where are we going?" Mitchie asked excitedly.

"It's a surprise." Shane smiled.

"Are we walking there?"

Shane nodded. "How bout we play a game to get to know each other?"

"I'm down for that," Mitchie said, admiring the gorgeous star blanketed sky.

"Okay, I'll ask you a question then you can ask me one. Okay, what's your favorite color?"

"Hmm tough decision. Mine has got to be yellow though."

"Yellow, really?" He seemed genuinely surprised. "I didn't peg you for a yellow person."

Mitchie laughed. "Most people don't. What color did you think?"

"More of a dark blue, blacker range."

"I see how it is, thinking I'm Goth. What's your favorite color, Mr. Smarty Pants?"  
"Blue, you gotta love blue."

"Eh, it's okay, but not as good as yellow."

They continued walking down the less than busy sidewalk. Questions kept coming from both parties, mostly simple and basic. Before long they had enough general information about each other.

So far Mitchie had found out that Shane was born on August 15th, he loves the color blue, he is very musical and plays many instruments, his favorite food is chicken cutlet, he was born in Arizona, but currently resides in New Jersey, and he is extremely good-looking. She liked him, a lot. She decided that since she got all the basic information, that it was time to move on to different questions.

"Okay, hmm, longest relationship," Mitchie asked him. Her eyes strayed away from him not wanting to hear that he actually had a girlfriend.

"Wow, this is embarrassing but probably only a month or two. I get really busy and I just never have time to keep a girlfriend. Plus, some of the girls that I have dated turn out to not be the smartest people you've ever met." He laughed which made Mitchie too. "How bout you?"

Mitchie had to think about this for a moment. "I think three weeks tops."

"You win the award for suckier dating than me!" he joked. "I'm just playing with you. That surprises me though. I would think you would have a serious boyfriend."

"Why do you say that?"

"You seem like the type of girl to know what she wants and to not mess around with people she isn't going to need in a couple years."

"Yeah, I don't know. I'm in the same boat as you. The guys I meet are just stupid to put it mildly. So I try to steer clear of any huge relationships."

"I understand."

After a moments silence, Mitchie blurted, "How come you started talking to me in the record store?"

They walked in silence for a couple seconds while Shane contemplated the question. "I don't really know. I was bored. You looked bored, and you were muttering about how mad you were at your friends. I thought you might want someone to take your mind off of them. Plus, it didn't hurt that you looked adorable in your Rolling Stones shirt."

She couldn't bear to look him in the eyes. Being complimented was something Mitchie was not often used too. And when she was complimented, she never knew what to do. A silence so intense and long fell on them as they continued to walk down the deserted streets.

"So, were here now," he said stopping at the corner of an old run down building and a corner market.

"Here meaning where?" asked Mitchie, glancing between the brightly lit corner market and what used to be a bed and breakfast hotel once upon a time.

Shane stood in front of the beat up hotel building. "Here!"

"Wait!" Mitchie said abruptly. "Are you taking me in there to kill me?"

Shane rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand. He led her around the side of the hotel. Pushing open the door, he stepped aside so Mitchie could enter.

"Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "If there is a killer in there you're going first."

Shane laughed stepping into the building. The door quickly shut behind Mitchie. Darkness enveloped the pair. Mitchie screamed, groping for Shane in the darkness. When she found him she wrapped her arms around his body, pressing her face to his scrawny chest. A couple seconds later the room filled with light.

One emerald green eye popped open, taking in the room before her. "What is this?"

"A studio," Shane said simply, opening another door that led to a bigger waiting area with even more doors.

"I think I got that much, but why are we here?" she wondered, choosing the first door on her left.

The room was much larger than she ever imagined it to be. A huge panel of controls took up most of the length of the room. Another door stood ajar, leading into the actual recording area. She sat in the black chair in front of the controls just staring at all the different devices.

"I thought I would teach you," Shane said following her into the room.

"I never even knew this place was here. How do you even know about this place?"

"My brothers and I sort of created this place."

Her eyes did a double take on Shane. She glanced around the room for some clue that would help her to figure out why Shane knew this place. Glancing right over the Connect 3 emblem above the recording door, she asked, "I'm so confused. What are you talking about?"

"This is what my brothers and I do, we make music."

"Are you in a band?" she asked slowly, trying to comprehend what was going on.

"Yes."

Mitchie moved from the chair and into the actual recording room. Her fingers traced over the padded sound proof walls. "What's the name of your band?" She ran her fingers across a guitar relaxing on a stand, loving the feel of the strings beneath her fingers.

"Connect 3," Shane said slowly.

Mitchie's fingers slipped on the guitar creating an ugly sound. "What?!"

Shane quickly joined her in the recording booth. Her face showed confusion and extreme nervousness. His heart broke at seeing her look so lost, and he made her feel this way too. It was his decision not to tell her sooner.

"Who are you?" she demanded, backing away from him.

"I'm Shane Gray. My brothers, Jason and Nate, and I are Connect 3."

"Prove it to me," she challenged.

"Have you even heard any of our songs?" Shane asked lightheartedly, trying to ease the mood.

Mitchie didn't want to smile showing that he had already made her forget that she was actually mad at him. "Uh, to be honest, no."

Laughing, Shane said, "That's okay, I'll sing you one of my favorites "When You Look Me in the Eyes"."

"Okay, prove it," she said shoving a microphone in his direction.

Shane pushed the microphone away from him. He didn't need a microphone to show off his talent. Instead he grabbed the guitar off the stand. Strumming a few chords first, Shane then proceeded to sing the chorus of "When You Look Me in the Eyes".

'_When you look me in the eyes,_

_And tell me that you love me._

_Everything's alright,_

_When you're right here by my side._

_When you look me in the eyes,_

_I catch a glimpse of heaven._

_I find my paradise,_

_When you look me in the eyes'_

Mitchie felt lightheaded again. Out of all the songs he could have sang to her, he picked the one that described how she felt with him. Perfect.

"Okay," she said breathlessly. "I believe you. How come you didn't tell me who you were before?"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know. I thought that if I told you you would either become completely disgusted at me, since you don't even like our music. Or I thought you would be like all the other girls I knew and become attached and really obsessed with the fact that, yes I am famous. It was so refreshing to finally meet someone who didn't even know me. Someone that knew me as Shane, not Shane Gray one of the guys in Connect 3.

Mitchie felt truly touched that he had put that much thought into this. "Okay, first off Shane Gray, I am not an obsessive Teeny Bopper fan. Yes, I can honestly say I've never heard your music before. I can't say that I like it or not since I haven't really listened to it. That wouldn't be far. And second, why would the thought of some celebrity taking interest in me make me go crazy?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Many people go crazy when they find out who I actually am; usually they already know me though. Are you mad at me?"

Closing the space between them, she walked right up to Shane and looked up into his beautiful brown eyes. She needed him to know that she wasn't mad at him for not telling her his true identity.

"Not exactly, more like shocked. Actually shocked is an understatement. I'm completely dumb founded. I can usually read people pretty well, and I should have seen all the clues. They were all sitting right in front of my face."

Shane brought his hand up to her cheek, stroking it gently. Heat tension built up in his hand from the contact of her skin. Their eyes locked, neither moved afraid to make the first movement.

"I'm actually kind of glad you didn't know me," he said softly. "I can actually be myself around you."

"Kind of embarrassing that I didn't know," she said lightly. "I mean you're supposedly some big superstar."

He laughed, light brown eyes glittering from the light. "Oh, you know, we're kind of a big deal."

"Cocky much?"

The intense air between them subsided, replaced with playfulness.

"Since you think I'm such a superstar, I think we should hear your voice now, rocker."

"Oh, no. I'm actually perfectly okay right now. I'm good."

"Oh come on," begged Shane, pushing her onto the stool. Handing her the guitar he had just used, he set it in her lap and exited the room.

"Oh that is not fair," she muttered to herself.

Over the intercom Shane said, "Yes it is. Now, just pretend you're in your room singing by yourself. You can turn around in your chair if you would like so you can't see me. Or I'll just pretend like I'm not here." He pretended to disappear underneath the control panel.

She laughed at his antics. Nerves settled in her stomach as she looked at the guitar in her hands. She tied her hair up into a messy bun with the elastic from her wrist. Doing as Shane suggested, she moved the chair in front of the microphone. Her back was facing the window, and she turned the microphone so that she could still sing into it.

A hundred reasons why she shouldn't sing right now rushed through her head. Taking one final huge breath, she pushed passed her nerves and settled her hands on the guitar.

"Just relax, don't be nervous. It's just me," Shane said from underneath the table.

"Yeah, like that makes me feel better now Mr. Gray from Connect 3," she muttered angrily. "Okay, I can do this."

Music floated from the guitar as she strummed the first chords to her song. She sang softly at first, but with every word and note her voice became stronger and louder. The energy from her song pulsed through her. It felt amazing.

'_This is real, this is me_

_I am exactly where I'm supposed to be now_

_Gonna let the light shine on me_

_Now I've found who I am_

_There's no way to hold it in_

_No more hiding who I wanna be_

_This is me'_

Mitchie opened her eyes and swiveled around in her chair. Shane stood on the other side of the glass, mouth hanging open.

"Was I that bad?" she asked nervously. "And you weren't supposed to look."

He still stood there, mouth agape.

"Shane! Say something!"

"You're her," he whispered, running into the recording booth to stand right in front of her.

'_You're the voice I hear inside my head_

_The reason that I'm singing_

_I need to find you, I gotta find you_

_You're the missing piece I need_

_The song inside of me_

_I need to find you, I gotta find you'_

"Shane, that is beautiful," she said, not even knowing that they were now holding hands.

"You're her. You're the voice inside my head," he said this time. "You're the one I heard in the classroom that day. The purple streak proves it." He touched the back of her head where the purple streak twisted up into her bun. "How come you didn't come to the auditions?"

She snorted. "You really think I would come to something like that. I mean come on, you know me now."

"That is true, but still. Lord Mitchie, you have kept me up all night last night. Every since I heard you singing yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about you. And now that I know it's you. I just, I don't know what to say."

"I take it you like my singing," she suggested.

Shane shook his head almost as if to say DUAH!

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she wondered, feeling very self conscience all the sudden.

"I just can't believe it. It's you."

Feeling flustered, Mitchie didn't say anything.

"It wouldn't be weird if I told you that you were my missing piece?" he asked uncertainly, gripping her hand.

Mitchie searched in his eyes for any sort of joke but she couldn't find any. All she saw was truth and something along the lines of love.

Love, that's crazy. They couldn't love each other already. They hadn't even known each other for a full day. She couldn't already like this boy so much. She barely knew him at all.

Oh, to hell with it all.

"No," she murmured, "not at all."


	6. The Preparations

**wooo!! another chapter. =] thank you all who reviewed!! nothing too exciting going on in this chapter, but just wait. the next ones are gonna be pretty off the hook. so faithful readers keep on reading! and i hope you enjoy this one. =]**

**Chapter Six:**** The Preparations**

**Sunday 12:30am**

Mitchie snuck quietly into Caitlyn's house around 12:30. She wasn't late at all – at least the Caitlyn; but the thought of waking Caitlyn's parents up and having to explain why she was here so late would not be fun.

Once inside Caitlyn's room she finally let herself breathe.

"Mo!" shouted Lola as she pounced on her.

"You're back early," noticed Caitlyn. "Bad date?"

"Opposite of that."

"Good date!" squealed CC.

"It really wasn't a date," Mitchie informed. "He just showed up at the movies."

"With some help from me," bragged Caitlyn, a very satisfied grin grew on her face.

"Explain," demanded Mitchie.

Caitlyn told Mitchie all about the Connect 3 signing, and how she discreetly told Shane about it through Lola. It was pure brilliancy – Mitchie had to admit.

"You're brilliant! Ah, I love you!"

"I knew you would."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me he was one of Connect 3!"

"I thought you would be smart enough to notice it yourself."

"You know I don't listen to any of their music."

"Yeah, but I thought you would recognize him. It was still an awesome surprise."

"It was excellent."

"Ugh, enough of the boring stuff," complained Lola. "Did you kiss him? Was it good?"

"We didn't kiss," she said disappointedly. "We came close to it, but Shane backed off. He is such a gentleman. I think he was worried it would look bad, since we've only known each other a day.

"No kiss! Disappointing!"

Caitlyn ignored Lola. "Are you going to see him before he leaves?"

"Funny you should ask about that." Mitchie reached into her pocket. "He invited us all to the Connect 3 concert."

Silence filled the room, then, "AHH! OMG! NO WAY! ARE YOU SERIOUS!?"

Mitchie handed Lo the five tickets as if to prove their realness. "Oh my God, Mo, you're going to a Connect 3 concert!"

"Don't remind me," she groaned. "I'm trying to forget about that."

**

* * *

**

12:37am

"Dudes," Shane sighed as he clambered onto the tour bus later that night.

"You're finally back!" exclaimed Nate, lunging at Shane.

"What happened? Tell us all about it!" Jason said, sounding like a school girl.

"Anything juicy?"

"Brothers, she was the one, the one with the voice."

"From that high school?"

"Yeah, it was her. She is amazing. Her voice, it gives me chills to say the least. And she is funny and smart and, I could go on and on about her all night."

Jason clapped Shane on the back. "I'm happy for you, bro."

"Yeah me too," agreed Nate, with a secret smile. "You gonna see her again?"

"I kind of invited her to the concert tomorrow, and I have a really good idea."

"Oh do tell," said Nate.

"Well, you see…"

**

* * *

**

12:39am

"What did you guys do after the movies?" Mitchie asked, her hand diving into a big bowl of candy.

"We hung out with Jason and Nate for a little bit."

"That's their names!" yelled Mitchie. "I kept calling them the tall one and the curly headed one."

"You need to catch up on your Connect 3 information. You're going to need to know all about them."

"How come?"

"Well," began Lola, "if you're going to be Shane Gray's love interest, you're going to have to know about Nate and Jason, basically everything about them."

"I am not Shane's love interest," she said quietly.

"Oh, don't even lie, you know you are."

"How does it feel to be Shane Gray's love interest?" Caitlyn asked, holding her hand toward Mitchie – pretending to be a reporter.

"Stop!" Mitchie laughed, pushing Caitlyn's hand away.

"Get used to it. I have a feeling you will be getting a lot of it soon."

**

* * *

**

12:42am

"That is so cool! Have you asked Mom and Dad about it yet?"

"Not yet, I'm about to now."

"Do you really think they are going to go for this?" wondered Jason skeptically.

Shane flipped a small tape over and over in his hand. "After they hear this they won't be able to say no."

"I love how you think brother."

Shane smiled and turned to go find his parents.

"I wanna hear it too!" both brothers shouted.

"Well come on then," Shane said over his shoulder. "I'm gonna go find them now."

**

* * *

**

10:29am

The morning came quickly. Mitchie remembered settling down to watch a movie around three, but she quickly fell asleep. Everything she dreamt, Shane sauntered into the picture. His smile, his laugh, his voice plagued her dreams.

He was amazing, and she couldn't stop thinking about him. This was ridiculous. She had met this boy yesterday. There should be some sort of law against being able to feel this strongly for someone after only one day of knowing them. It usually took her forever to like someone this much. She had dated a boy for six months before, and she never felt anything close to this.

Something felt different with Shane. A good different.

"Mitchie! Wake up! Time to get beautified for the concert!" Lola bellowed while shaking Mitchie's body.

"What time is it?" she asked groggily without opening her eyes.

"10:30!"

"The concert doesn't start for another eight and a half hours!" complained Mitchie.

"It's going to take you that long to get ready."

"I hate you."

"Get up!" Lola pulled her off the bed, letting her plop to the ground.

"I hate you even more now," she mumbled attempting to shield her face from the sun.

"We're leaving for the spa in an hour!"

"Oh spa!"

"I knew that would get you up."

Mitchie pushed herself off the floor, stretching her arms high above her head. She walked passed Lola bumping her hip on the way.

"I still hate you."

**

* * *

**

8:25am

"Oh boys, it's a glorious day!" Shane said throwing open the blinds.

"Shane, go back to bed," grumbled Jason.

"Concert day man! We gotta get rolling."

Every day when there was a concert, the brothers had a very strict schedule to follow.

8:30 am. Wake up and have breakfast.

9:15 am. Studio to do a run-through.

11:30 am. Lunch with Demi and dancers.

1:00 pm. Watch movie with the family.

3:30 pm. Head over to arena.

4:00 pm. Run-through of whole concert.

7:15 pm. Opening act.

8:00 pm. Demi Lovato perform.

9:00 pm. Connect 3 performs.

11:00 pm. Wrap up concert/meet fans/after party.

12:30 am. Catch flight to New York City.

Pretty hectic schedule, but that was just the life of performing. Shane loved it. The day of a concert sent thrills of excitement through his body, such a rush. All he wanted to do all day was stand on that stage and perform for all their fans. He loved the rush. He lived for it. But for some reason all he could think about today wasn't the concert, but one very beautiful brunette.

Mitchie.

Just thinking her name made a huge smile spread across his face, he wondered what she was doing at this moment. Maybe thinking of him? He hoped so.

Before he walked into breakfast Shane sent Mitchie a text, even though she probably wasn't awake yet. He just needed her to know he was thinking of her.

"Come on Shane, I'm starving!" Nate said.

"I'm coming!" Shane said, entering the diner.

**

* * *

**

11:16am

"This feels amazing," Caitlyn exhaled, relishing the massage.

The lady working on her face smiled satisfactory. Mitchie couldn't agree more, her massage felt fantastic. She hadn't realized how tense she really was until her masseuse kept saying 'how very tense you are Miss'.

"Hey Mo, what did that text say from Shane again?" wondered Lola, a quirky smile on her face.

Mitchie blushed profusely. "Nothing," she lied. She knew exactly what the text said. She read it about fifty times this morning and practically memorized it.

Flipping open her phone again, Mitchie went straight to Shane's message.

_Morning gorgeous. I can't tell you how much fun I had last night. I can't text you until 3:30. See you soon. =] I miss you._

Little flutters of happiness danced around in her stomach, warming her whole core.

"Mo's got a crush!" smiled Caitlyn.

Mitchie smiled sheepishly. She wished she didn't have to wait until 3:30 to talk to him again. Lola suggested that she stalk him on the internet for awhile, just to get to know him better she had said. Mitchie readily vetoed that suggestion, it was too weird. Then Caitlyn took her to the store and bought her the Connect 3 CD. Caitlyn said that she should at least learn some of the songs so she could lip sync them at the concert. After the first song, Mitchie had to admit, she actually liked them. And Mitchie didn't like bubblegum pop music.

She couldn't deny the fact that the boys could sing – and boy could they sing well. Her friends informed her that Shane was the lead singer – not that they needed to tell her that. She could have picked out Shane's captivating voice anywhere. His voice demanded attention.

"Nail time!" the short Chinese lady announced.

The girls squealed excitedly. "How should I get my nails done?" Caitlyn asked holding her nails out in front of her.

"Hmm," Mitchie thought. "CC, you should get a soft pink, and Lo, I'd go with a hot red."

"Just what I was thinking!" exclaimed Lola.

"What about you?"

"I'm thinking an electric yellow."

"So you," giggled Caitlyn.

"Oh, I love spa time," Lola sighed happily.

**

* * *

**

12:57pm

"What movie are we watching today?" their youngest brother, Tyler, asked.

Shane situated himself on the couch of the tour bus. He didn't particularly care what they watched today. Maybe another day he would have voiced his opinion, but his thoughts were on more important things right now. He rather felt like ditching out on movie time to call Mitchie – although he knew it would be impossible. Mom made it a rule on concert days that the boys were not allowed to use their phones until after family time. She thought it may cause them to lose focus during the day if they used their phones.

Not being able to talk to Mitchie was making him absolutely crazy.

"Shane, how does Finding Nemo sound? Shane!" Jason yelled.

"What's wrong with you today, Shane? You're acting like your out in left field," his mom observed.

"He's thinking about Mitchie," cooed Nate.

He glared at his brother.

"Do you want to talk to her?" Mom asked, eyeing him carefully.

Shane nodded readily.

After a moment of silence, his mom said, "Go ahead."

Shane sprung out of his seat and raced to the back of the bus, paying no mind to the complaints his brothers were making. He was going to talk to Mitchie.

**

* * *

**

1:04pm

"Joe is calling!" Mitchie said excitedly.

"Answer it! Answer it!" shouted Caitlyn.

"No!"

"I'll answer it," suggested Lola, making a grab for the phone.

"Okay, I will."

Mitchie flipped open her phone saying, "Hey."

"Hello pretty girl. I've been dying to talk to you all day," Shane's voice sounded through her phone.

Her smile widened at the sound of his voice. "I have too. I thought you couldn't talk until much later?"

"Seems that Mom let me have an oust on the family time for a chance to talk to you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I haven't stopped thinking about you."

"Me either. I can't wait to see you later."

"Same here. What have you been doing all day?"

"Well, my friends and I went to a spa – very relaxing. Now we're shopping for something to wear tonight. I haven't found anything decent yet. What do girls usually wear to your concerts?"

Shane's laugh echoed out of the phone. "I'm sure you will look beautiful in whatever you decide on, and to the question – I have no idea."

Mitchie felt herself begin to blush. "Thanks for all the help. You excited for the concert?" She wished she could have taken the question back as soon as it left her mouth. She sounded like an over excited, obsessed fan, and she hated herself for it.

"Oh yeah, I am always excited for concerts. I live for the performances."

She loved how passionate he was about music. Passion gives his voice and music much more meaning and heart than some of the other performers in the world.

"Good, I'm excited to actually listen to you sing. And last night doesn't count," she added before he could protest.

"And why not?" He protested anyway.

"It just doesn't count."

"Well, hopefully tonight we don't disappoint."

"I'm sure you won't."

"Okay, sadly I must get going now. Mom says I have been talking long enough. We're heading over to the arena soon anyway."

"Okay, good luck. Sing your little heart out."

"I will," he laughed. "See you later."

"Bye," she said softly, closing the phone slowly.

"Oh, you are so infatuated with him its not even funny!" Lola said.

Mitchie buried her head into Lola's shoulder. "Ugh, I know. Why am I? I've never acted like this over a guy before."

Caitlyn started. "I think you actually care about him. All your other boyfriends were just good friends, never anything more than that."

"And he is good-looking, talented, funny, sweet – the whole package basically. Why wouldn't you like him?"

"I don't know. The fact that he is a major pop star puts a damper on things. I mean, he is going to be touring and making movies and all this stuff, right? Where does that leave me exactly?"

"Mo, you're thinking way too much into this. You just got to live in the moment and go with the flow. Whatever happens will happen for a reason," Caitlyn said reassuringly.

Lola added, "I think Shane is a smart enough guy to not throw away a good thing either. If he really likes you he will make it work no matter what stands in the way."

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll just go with the flow," Mitchie said, repeating Caitlyn's words.

"Best idea you've had all day. Now let's get you a sexy outfit for tonight!"

**

* * *

**

5:35pm

Lola, Caitlyn, and Mitchie all crammed into Caitlyn's very small bathroom, each attempting to finish their look for the concert.

"Quit fussing with your hair Mo, it looks gorgeous," insisted Lola.

Mitchie immediately stopped running her hands through her long dark locks. The long stands of brown flowed into loose, effortlessly looking curls. Her purple streak curled nicely into a neighbor brown piece.

"Are you sure I look okay?" she asked for the umpteenth time.

Both Caitlyn and Lola rolled their eyes. "Mo, you look beautiful. Shane isn't going to be able to sing once he sees you."

Mitchie nodded. She took one last look in the mirror. She wore a dark blue ¾ length sleeve tunic dress that could have passed for a mini-dress, since it ended a little higher than mid-thigh. Tonight she paired it with heather gray leggings that disappeared into dark brown boots. Lola lent her an electric yellow ribbon to tie around her waist. The yellow highlighted her nails and accented the outfit perfectly. She had to admit, the yellow ribbon gave it that extra push – she looked like a rocker.

"Okay, I'm ready."

"Me too!" Caitlyn and Lola screamed.

"Let me go check on my sister," Caitlyn said. "I'll tell her we won't go unless she is in the car in five minutes. That should get her moving."

CC didn't lie; Evan and Tanya were seated and belted in the car within three minutes. They were so excited that their squeals reminded Mitchie why she hated these types of events. All the giggling and screaming was obnoxious, and Mitchie could barely handle it.

Shane.

That was what kept her from jumping out of the car and onto the extremely busy high way.

Excitement and nerves mixed together in her stomach, making her feel sick. She was beyond anxious to see Shane again.

Ugh, she couldn't wait another minute.

"We're here!" Caitlyn announced ten minutes later.

Lola, Evan, and Tanya jumped out of the car and ran ahead, all three screaming.

Caitlyn hung back with Mitchie, practically having to drag her out of the car.

"Come on, the quicker we get there the faster you get to see Shane."

This made Mitchie move a little faster.

"I knew that would get you moving."

"Bite me," she smiled.

"Leave that to Shane," said Caitlyn smugly.

The brunette chose to ignore her raven-haired friend. Falling into line behind all the screaming younger girls sporting their Connect 3 gear made Mitchie thank her parents for pushing her into listening to classic rock, instead of the cookie cutter stuff most people listened to today.

She twirled a long strand of hair – nervous habit. The line to get into the arena went all the way to the other side of the street, which didn't help her anxiety. She wanted to see Shane now; she needed too just to calm her nerves down some.

"Mo." Caitlyn grabbed her hand. "You're going to be fine."

"I know, I know," she said. "I just can't get other the fact that I'm at a Connect 3 concert. Something I swore I'd never do."

"We will forgive you for this one time. I'm sure Journey will overlook this one incident," added Caitlyn smiling.

"Let's hope so."

Their group finally made it inside the building. Evan and Tanya instantly asked where we sitting. Lola examined the tickets thoroughly. "Row 7, on the floor! NO WAY!"

"NO WAY!" Caitlyn exclaimed.

"Are we really?" asked Mitchie, snatching the tickets from Lola. "No way in hell, Shane did good."

"This is going to be amazing!" squealed Evan and Tanya.

Mitchie groaned.

"Just think: this means you're going to be even closer to him on stage. He will practically be able to touch you!"

"Oh, and you're doing a good thing. You're making the dreams of two ten year olds come true. Now let's go see your boyfriend!"

"He's not my boyfriend," Mitchie stated, but something about the word boyfriend made her heart beat faster than it had been all night.


	7. The Unthinkable

****

i love having snow days cause it means i get to type!! WOOO! another chapter has arrived. =] thanks for all who are interested in this story! it keeps me writing. =] enjoy!

**Chapter Seven:**** The Unthinkable**

**6:50pm**

The noise level increased tremendously in the past half hour or so. Even in the dressing rooms the screaming girls could be heard plain as day. Anxiety and excitement hung in the air.

Nate played a melody on his guitar, humming along to the soft chords. Jason continued to tune his own guitar. Shane was quieter than usual. At this time he would usually be bouncing around the room, ready to get on stage.

"Boys were meeting in the pit in fifteen minutes," the concert manager stated. "Demi is just about ready to go on and we need everyone."

The boys nodded. This was the worst part of the whole. Don't get them wrong; they loved listening to Demi and Taylor sing but they were so anxious to get on stage themselves. It was rather hard for them to sit another two hours waiting to play.

Upon leaving the dressing room the noise and screams intensified. The vibe of the arena pulsed through Shane; he let the cheers and chants of 'Connect 3' wash over him. The brothers met up with the whole cast and crew of the concert in the pit.

The boy's father cleared his throat and began to speak. "Alright everyone, it's come time for another concert. Let us pray for a moment; Dear God, Give everyone the strength and ability to perform to their upmost potential tonight. Pray that no one gets injured and that we have a success. In your name we pray."

"Amen," chorused around the huge circle.

"Girls, boys," he said, looking from Demi and Taylor to his sons, "kick some ass tonight and give these screaming girls what they came here to see! Rock it on three; one, two, three!"

"ROCK IT!" shouted the entire cast and crew members.

Taylor and Demi went off in the direction of the stage, preparing to start the concert off. The boys lingered for awhile but were eventually shuttled off to make up.

**

* * *

**

8:53pm

"This is beyond boring," complained Mitchie.

Lola danced next to her. "Get up you lazy ass," she demanded, pulling Mitchie to her feet. "You need to just forget about your classical music mantra and live in the fun happy music of this century!"

Caitlyn nodded on Mitchie's other side. "I'm pretty sure that she is going to be done soon. And then you get to see your boy toy."

She groaned. "Stop calling him that."

"I will if you dance!" CC said, moving Mitchie's arms to the beat.

"I hate you."

The singer on stage finally ended her song. "Thanks everyone! You've been amazing! Are you ready for the main act?!" she paused so fans could scream. "I don't think that was loud enough! Don't you want them to hear you!? Now give it up for these three super cute, super talented boys! Connect 3!"

**

* * *

**

8:58pm

"Boys, assemble!" the director commanded once everyone was done primping.

Jason, Nate, and Shane, with guitars and microphones in hand, stood on three separate platforms under the stage that would rise to the top.

Above them, Demi finished her last song and said, "Thanks everyone! You've been amazing! Are you ready for the main act?!" she paused so fans could scream. "I don't think that was loud enough! Don't you want them to hear you!? Now give it up for these three super cute, super talented boys! Connect 3!"

As Demi announced the boys, the three slowly began their ascent to the deafening roars of the fans above. Shane's adrenaline pumped harder than ever. Lights flickered in every direction, illuminating parts of the jumping crowd.

Shane's breath caught in his throat. Mitchie locked eyes with him for the briefest of seconds and he felt all thoughts leave his mind.

**

* * *

**

9:01pm

Mitchie knew he saw her just by the way he stopped dead in his tracks – like he saw a ghost of some sort. Thankfully he recovered as quickly as he stopped. All the lights went out suddenly, leaving the whole arena in darkness. A huge flash of light – like fire – spread across the stage and the boys instantly launched into play a song. Mitchie recognized it from earlier when she listened to the album, 'Play My Music' that's what it was.

Every single person in the room sang along to every word. Once the song finished Shane yelled to the crowd, "What's going on Jersey!? How's our hometown loving the concert so far?!"

"That Demi girl was pretty good right?!" Jason asked the crowd.

"We're going to play another song that you all know very well. Feel free to sing along," Nate said.

The brothers huddled together in the middle making this big show of discussing what song they were going to sing next. Mitchie couldn't lie; it was entertaining and adorable at the same time.

She took a moment to look around at all the other girls in the arena. Many held signs that claimed their true love for their favorite brother. Some girls even had pictures of their faces on hand-made t-shirts. Mitchie didn't know if she should feel weird or disgusted with the girls that boasted signs of 'Future Mrs. Shane Gray'. She decided to forget about all the starry eyed fans and keep her eyes on Shane.

The opening chords of 'Year 3000' echoed through the arena. Mitchie swears every single girl screamed through the entire song. Not knowing any of the words gave Mitchie the freedom to stare at Shane. His presence on the stage demanded attention, and his ability to lull girls into a stupor was even more powerful than his presence.

She could have sworn Shane's gaze landed on her more than once during the song, yet again she imagining the whole thing.

"Shane is so good!" exclaimed Caitlyn. "And lord, Nate is even more adorable in his rocker outfit. And that guitar, WOO!"

"I know. He's amazing," said Mitchie breathlessly.

"We're going to slow it down a little bit for this one," Nate said placing his guitar on a stand behind him.

He jogged up a ramp to where a white grand piano stood magnificently on a high-rise.

Shane walked down the runway to the very end. "Let me introduce you to our pianist, my little brother, Nate!"

The crowd went crazy as Nate's fingers plucked out the first couple notes of 'When You Look Me in the Eyes'. Jason and Shane joined with their guitars and voices after Nate sang the first couple verses by himself.

Their voices, along with Shane's constant glance to Mitchie, made chills travel up and down her spine. She felt as if he was singing to her and only her. Mitchie wished she had the guts to do what the brothers did so well – perform and entertain.

Her biggest fear – beyond anything – was performing in front of any amount of people given the fact that they sang in front of thousands upon thousands every night. She loved singing, as much as any other singer – there was no doubt about that. The thought of her energy, her voice, her pride relying on the sole cheers of the crowd scared her to death. She sang for her own pleasure. Singing to herself didn't require the approval of anyone else. She could love it or hate it, just her. No one ever heard her sing; except for Caitlyn and Lola, they were the only two to ever hear her sing. Well, now Shane had heard her too. Other than that, no one else has ever heard her.

Singing to Shane last night took a lot of nerve and power from deep inside herself. Shane, of all people. He is a top recording artist with near perfect vocals. And there she was, some small city girl thinking she could sing.

Hearing him say that she was the voice he had heard that day at school made her confidence soar. After giving him a hard time about sneaking around and listening to her sing, she felt she could sing to millions. If Shane Gray approved did anything else matter?

"Mo! Mitchie!" Caitlyn shouted, shaking the brunette out of her thoughts.

"What?"

"That man wants to talk to you," she pointed to the end of the row where a short bald man waiting impatiently.

"Why?" she asked, worry etched in her words.

"Just go!" CC pushed.

Carefully moving passed Lola, Evan, and Tanya, Mitchie came face to face with the little man.

"Are you Mitchie Jordan?" he asked sourly.

"Yes," she answered uncertainly.

"Follow me," he said abruptly.

"Wait, what? Why?"

"Mr. Shane Gray has requested it."

Shane? Shane wants to see her – now? But he's on stage at the moment singing his heart out to thousands of little girls. Why would he possibly want to see her?

Mitchie really wanted to watch the rest of the performance, but the little man looked on the verge of killing someone if she didn't obey. She reluctantly agreed to follow.

**

* * *

**

9:48pm

"We're going to slow it down again for you," Shane yelled to the crowd.

"This next song is really amazing," Jason shouted.

"I think you're going to love it," Shane agreed. "But Jason and I are going to have to leave for a few moments."

"Nate is going to entertain while were absent!" Jason said.

"Nate!" Shane screamed as he ran off the stage to the waiting deck, Jason on his heels.

The two brothers were met with curious stares of the crew – not everyone had been informed of their plan. Shane searched the room. His mother smiled knowingly. "She's in the dressing room."

"Have you told her?"  
"I thought I would let you do that. She's amazing by the way, real sweet girl."

Shane hugged her. "Thank you. I love you." He took off at a dead sprint with his mother yelling after him, "Five minute!" Jason followed right behind him.

"Dude, you haven't told her yet?" Jason asked, completely perplexed.

"Not really."

"She is totally going to kill you."

"Wait out here," Shane instructed. "I'll let you in when I told her everything. Knock on the door if it's getting close to time."

"Good luck brother."

Shane thanked him. He was going to need it.

**

* * *

**

9:56pm

A soft knock at the door startled Mitchie. She had been admiring the boys' pictures. "Come in," she said awkwardly, still entranced by a picture of Shane.

"Hey," Shane's voice sounded softly from the door.

Every fiber in her body hummed. Mitchie turned around; Shane stood only a few feet away from her looking absolutely adorable in his post-concert state. She fought every urge in her body to run and tackle him.

Thankfully Shane did that for her.

He crossed the room, enveloping her in his strong arms. Mitchie melted into his touch – not even minding that he was completely slick from sweat. His fingers lost themselves in her long gorgeous hair.

"Thank you so much for coming."

"Thank you so much for inviting me. I never knew I would actually enjoy a concert like this. Plus you're brilliant."

Mitchie swore she saw a faint blush spread across his face – could have been the make up.

"How come you wanted to see me?" she asked.

"Well, you see, I have this idea."

"What kind of idea?" she wondered nervously.

"A really good idea actually."

"Am I going to hate you?"

"I really hope not."


	8. The Fear

**im sure you all know whats coming! so hopefully you all loooove it! enjoy my loves!**

**Chapter Eight:**** The Fear**

**10:02pm**

"I hate you," Mitchie stated bluntly.

"No you don't. You're just nervous. Don't worry, I was this nervous too."

"No, you don't understand," she said forcefully. "This is my biggest fear in the whole entire universe." The shaking of her arms and legs was enough proof of how nervous she really was. She continually twisted a strand of wavy hair around her fingers – nervous, ha.

"You will be fine," Shane said soothingly, hoping, still, that Mitchie wouldn't pounce on him and beat him to death.

"I still hate you."

Shane just smiled.

**

* * *

**

10:07pm

"Where is Mo?" Caitlyn asked Lola, glancing around people to see if Mitchie was headed back to them now.

"I have no idea," Lola said joining Caitlyn in search of Mitchie.

"Do you think she is okay?"

Before Lo could answer her question, Jason appeared back on stage calling everyone's attention to him.

"We have a big surprise for you all tonight! You wanna know what it is? I know you do! My brother, Shane, had this outrageous idea about having a contest to find "The Voice" he was looking for. If he found the certain voice he was looking for, he or she was going to sing a song for us tonight!"

Caitlyn and Lola exchanged knowing glances.

"Needless to say, Shane found his voice. So it is my honor in introducing, for the first time ever, Shane's "Voice". She's amazing, the next big star for sure. Everyone give it up for your very own, Mitchie Jordan!"

"What the –!" Lola yelled.

"Oh my stars," sighed Caitlyn. "She is going to die."

**

* * *

**

10:10pm

Mitchie heard Jason announce her name – fear pounded on her heart. A small amount of pride fluttered in her chest though, she liked the sound of her name being called out to millions. She knew she needed to be moving onto the stage at this very moment but her feet wouldn't allow it.

Shane pushed her gently. "You can do it. I'll be right there with you."

With one final push, Mitchie stumbled onto the back of the stage almost crashing into the platform in front of her.

"Yeah, then why aren't you out here with me?" she muttered to herself.

The restlessness of the crowd was evident. Music sprung to life – louder than anything she had ever heard before – and Mitchie had to grope at her earplug to make sure it was still there. Shane and Jason gave her a brief rundown of how the whole concert thing worked; she hoped it all had sunk in somewhat. Mitchie listened closer to the music. It was her song – her song, accompanied by music, was now streaming throughout the arena. Shane had put music to her song, and it was absolutely perfect. Tears of admiration and disbelief threatened to fall from her bright green eyes. Mitchie slowly brought the microphone to her mouth; she could not believe she was actually going to do this.

"I've always been the kind of girl that hid my face," she sang directly to the platform in front of her. "So afraid to tell the world what I've got to say." She walked slowly to the edge of the platform. A glimpse of the whole arena with its flashing lights and penetrating screams scared her senseless. Just one more step and she would be out there, in front of all of them. "But I've had this dream, bright inside of me. Gonna let it show. It's time to let you know. To let you know."

Mitchie closed her eyes and took one step – one step that changed her forever. "This is real, this is me. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now." She strode to the center of the stage with as much confidence as she could muster. Singing as if she had never sung before, Mitchie took the chance and danced. The energy in the building was unbelievably contagious. All the girls were screaming, yet trying to listen to the words. Their praise pressed Mitchie to open up even more. Now she understood.

"Gonna let the light shine on me. Now I've found who I am. There's no way to hold it in. No more hiding who I wanna be. This is me."

The deafening roar answered her deepest and darkest worries – she could do this. She can do this. All pent up with adrenaline, Mitchie ran down the runway letting all other thoughts leave her mind completely. This felt amazing; she couldn't remember the last time she felt this free.

Young girls stuck their hands out for her to slap as she ran by. She continued to sing, "Do you know what its like to feel so in the dark? To dream about a life, where you're the shining star? Even though it seems like it's too far away. I have to believe in myself. It's the only way."

This time the girls sang along to the chorus. Hearing other people sing the words to her own song gave her an enormous amount of pride and thrill.

"This is real, this is me. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now. Gonna let the light shine on me. Now I've found who I am. There's no way to hold it in. No more hiding who I wanna be. This is me."

Mitchie paused for the break in her song, dancing at the end of the runway. She opened her mouth to sing the third verse but found she was interrupted.

"You're the voice I hear inside my head. The reason that I'm singing," the alluring voice of Shane sounded from the center of the stage. "I need to find you. I gotta find you. You're the missing piece I need, the song inside of me. I need to find you."

Mitchie found her voice, her eyes focused on Shane's. "I gotta find you!" she belted with Shane.

"This is real, this is me," she sang moving slowly down the runway.

Together they sang, "I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now. Gonna let the light shine on me. Now I've found who I am. There's no way to hold it in. No more hiding who I wanna be."

"This is me," sang Mitchie.

The pair met halfway down the runway; their eyes locked on each others. Shane sang his part over again as Mitchie belted 'this is me'. Hands laced, the two walked down the rest of the runway, singing their souls to each other through their words.

Together they stopped at the end of the runway and sang; "Now I've found who I am. There's no way to hold it in. No more hiding who I want to be. This is me."

They ended softly, facing each other. Shane's hand was lost in Mitchie's hair again. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. Even though the crowd went absolutely wild once they finished, the pair did not move.

Softly, Shane whispered in her ear, "I knew you could do it."

**

* * *

**

10:19pm

"Oh my God!" screamed Caitlyn and Lola; they had finally been able to get back stage to see Mitchie.

Mitchie's two friends tackled her, practically knocking her to the ground.

"You were amazing!"

"So good!"

Both girls shouted to her at once.

"I thought you were going to faint out there," admitted Caitlyn looking a little guilty.

"Thanks CC for all the confidence."

The aftershock of her performance had not worn off completely yet. She couldn't believe she actually got out on stage and performed her extremely personal song in front of so many people. She had to admit; it felt damn good and she did damn good too.

"I didn't know you were going to sing with me," Mitchie told Shane pointedly.

"I told you I was going to right there with you," he said, his beautiful smile appearing.

"Mo, you nailed it out there!" Nate exclaimed, giving her a high five.

"Thanks."

"You really did," Jason agreed. "The crowd absolutely loved you!"

"You are really something," the boys' father said. "Have you ever considered a career in singing?"

"Not really."

"Well, you might want to now."


	9. The Question

**snow days are my best friends. =] thanks everyone for reviewing! you know how i love those reviews. ENJOY!**

**Chapter Nine:**** The Question**

**Saturday 11:15pm**

Shane couldn't believe how extremely well the evening turned out; the entire concert was a complete success. His heart still pumped faster than usual, thanks to post-concert excitement. He sat comfortably in the limo, his arm dangling around the shoulders of a gorgeous girl in a blue shirt.

"You are amazing," he whispered into her ear for the hundredth time that night.

His breath tickled her, sending pleasant shivers shooting down her spine. "Stop saying that," she giggled.

"Okay, if I can't tell you how amazing you are, what can we talk about?"

Mitchie shrugged her shoulders. "Tell me more about you."

Surprised, Shane asked, "Why? I'm rather boring."

"You are a rock star. I hardly think that counts as boring."

"Well, I wanna know about you," he said. "Tell me about your family."

Something in Mitchie constricted. The circulation of blood to her heart all but stopped. Her breathing came out in short rasps. _Calm, take control of yourself._ He just asked one simple question. No need to freak about over it. Thankfully, Shane hadn't noticed her momentary lapse.

"Well, uh, I have a younger brother. He is six years old and causes so much terror in the house I wonder sometimes if he was an animal in a past life," Mitchie tried, hoping her attempt to sound cool and calm didn't seem too strained.

"Sounds like my youngest brother. He is crazy and always running around doing things, but I still love him."

She smiled at him.

"You're parents must be awesome. They raised such a good girl they couldn't be anything but perfect."

Nodding, Mitchie hoped he would drop the subject of her family quickly. "So, where are we going exactly?"

The slight diversion shifted Shane's statements to the after party they were currently on their way too. She had to admit she barely listened to anything he said about the party. Her thoughts drifted on his question: _tell me about your family_. For the longest time, no one ever mentioned anything to her about her family. And she personally liked it that way best. With no mention of her family, she wouldn't have to explain her painful background.

_Stay calm, there's nothing you can do about it now_. Mitchie focused on Shane. Looking at his animated face calmed her more than she ever thought it would.

The limo came to a slow stop, Mitchie's door clicked open.

"Welcome to Pier Port, Miss Mitchie," the driver said extending his hand to her.

Mitchie glanced at Shane; he nodded. She grabbed his hand and pulled herself out of the limo. Flashes and lights impaired her vision as soon as she hit the pavement. A hand flew in front of her face to shield her eyes from all the lights.

"It's the downfall of being famous," whispered Shane in her ear. "Walk along the carpet slowly, greet anyone you want, take pictures, sign things; it's simple and not as bad as you think it might be."

Mitchie nodded. "They aren't going to want my autograph. No one knows me."

"You'll be surprised," he said, his whole face lighting up. "Come on; let's get going so we can get inside to the real party."

**

* * *

**

11:35pm

"I can't believe we are at a party with so many famous people!" Lola squealed excitedly. "I seriously think I just saw Tom Hanks. I gotta go see if that was him!"

Lola sprinted off into the crowds. Caitlyn and Mitchie shared a look and busted out laughing. "This is surreal though, isn't it? Who would have expected all this?"  
Caitlyn shrugged her dainty shoulders. "No idea, but I could get used to this."

"Dance?" Mitchie suggested, dragging Caitlyn to the center of the dance floor.

The two friends danced to the pulsating music. People danced and mingled everywhere. Pier Port was almost full to the maximum capacity point. Mitchie couldn't find one area where there wasn't someone in it.

"Mind if I cut in?" a gorgeous stranger asked Mitchie.

"Go right ahead," she giggled, giving CC an excited look.

Mitchie left the dance floor and her flustered friend behind her. Someone grabbed her arm and turned her to face them. Her eyes instantly fell into Shane's smoldering brown eyes. She felt her heart melt.

"You want to step outside with me?" he asked nervously.

What did he have a reason to be nervous for? "Of course," she accepted easily. Her fingers slipped perfectly into his hand. The heat from his hand caused her thoughts to not form properly in her head.

**

* * *

**

Sunday - 12:00am

Stars twinkled in the midnight black sky. So many stars stretched over the expanse of the sky. It looked endless.

Shane and Mitchie lay comfortably on the ground, gazing up at the stars. They had found a quiet spot where no one would bother them. They had been talking for the last half an hour or so, talking about their dreams and their wants.

"What's your dream, Mo?" Shane asked, twirling a piece of Mitchie's hair in his finger.

She thought hard about this question. "I'm not exactly sure. I've always wanted to conquer my fear of singing on stage, but I never thought I would get the chance to do that."

"You conquered that fear with flying colors," he said happily.

A blush spread across her cheeks.

"Now that you conquered that one, what's your next dream?"

She shrugged. "To be happy throughout life."

This statement confused and pleased him at the same time. Mitchie was far more mature than he ever thought she was.

"That's an easy enough dream to conquer. You already have me, so you are already going to be happy throughout life."

Mitchie laughed at his playful cockiness, but the idea of him being with her for a very long time satisfied her. She imagined the two of them some years much later sitting around a kitchen table discussing the news. Shaking her heard, Mitchie was thinking way too far ahead of herself. Stay in the present she wanted to scream at herself.

"What's going on in your head?" he asked softly, propping himself up on his arm so that he could face her.

"Just thinking."

He smiled and didn't question her thinking. That's one thing she loved about him. He wouldn't pressure her into giving him an answer. Wait, did she just say love?

"So," he started, "I have to tell you something. Can you wait until I'm done and then comment?"

His face pleaded with her and she never saw him look this afraid before. "Of course."

Shane let out a huge sigh before talking. "These past two days with you have been the most fun I have had in a really long time. You make me so happy, and when I'm with you I can't imagine being anywhere else. This is all happening really fast, but I can't help it. I saw you two days ago and from that moment on all I could think about was the girl with the voice. Even when I didn't know it was you, you still plagued my mind."

"Then I met you, without knowing I already saw you, and we hit it off. You are so different than all the other girls I've ever talked to. You are interested in things other than me being famous. You actually like good music and don't pretend to like ours. You have this adorable habit of twirling your hair when you get nervous, which you are doing right now." She dropped her hand from her hair; she hadn't noticed she was doing it. "Don't stop, it's cute. I love how I can actually have intelligent conversations with you and not feel like I'm the only one who knows what I'm talking about. I also love how you are so oblivious to how beautiful you look. It makes you even more gorgeous in my eyes."

"I feel like I've been waiting my whole life to find someone as special as you are. Who would have guessed I would have found it in Jersey, only miles away from my own home? I know I'm rambling, seems I picked this habit up from you already. I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me, even if you don't feel the same way. I needed to get it off my chest before it suffocated me. It's really killing me that I'm going to have to leave you tonight."

Mitchie nodded, stunned too much to be able to speak.

Shane's arms had wrapped around her somewhere during his monologue. He drew her even closer to him. Mitchie's heart pounded louder than ever; she thought it would burst right out of her chest. Their lips were inches apart.

"Shane! Mitchie!" shouted Jason from the entrance to the party. "We've been looking for you two everywhere."

Shane glared at his eldest brother over Mitchie's shoulder. "I guess we should go back inside."

Mitchie gave him a heartfelt smile. "We're being summoned."

This made Shane laugh and forget about Jason's interruption. Once they were back inside, Shane was dragged away to talk with someone. Mitchie wandered around the still packed room looking for her friends. She needed to talk to someone. She spotted Caitlyn with the boy she had been dancing with earlier.

"CC, do you have a minute?" Mitchie asked, stepping in between her and the boy.

"I'm about to leave. Mom just called, she wants me home now," she said sadly.

"Okay, I'll talk to you later then," Mitchie said, leaving her friend to her new boy.

Lola had to be around here somewhere. She needed one friend to talk too. As soon as Mitchie glanced Lola was bounding down on her.

"Mo! Where have you been!? Why are you so happy!?" she asked excitedly. "Did you and Shane finally kiss?!"

"We were so close," said Mitchie. "But I have something even better to tell you."

"Something better than kissing? I can't believe it."

Mitchie smacked her friend. "He just confessed his feelings to me."

Lo squealed happily. "This is so exciting! Did you tell him how you feel?"

"No, I didn't get a chance too. Jason came and found us right before we were going to kiss."

A guilty expression planted itself on Lola's face. "That might be my fault. I was with him and we went looking for you two."

"Lo! You killed the kiss! You kiss killer," laughed Mitchie.

"I'm so very sorry! I will make it up to you! Let me go find Shane right now."

Before Mitchie had time to protest Lola was already winding through the party goers looking for Shane. Someone tapped on her shoulder.

"Shane!" she said surprised. "Lola just went to get you."

"Why?" he wondered.

"Nothing of importance," she stated. "What's going on?"

"I have a really crazy idea. You want to hear it?"

Wedding bells danced around in her head and she quickly silenced them. She was beginning to think she was getting a little carried away. Really?

"Just hear me out to the end, and then you can tell me what you think. I had this crazy idea and I told Dad about it. He went to the tour manager and he agreed with me. What I'm trying to get to is that if you wanted to, and only if you wanted to, would you want to continue the rest of the tour with us?" he asked, almost pleaded.

The shock of the proposal stunned Mitchie into silence.

**WHAT'S SHE GOING TO SAY!? whoever gets it right gets the next chapter dedicated to them! =] i love you all.**


	10. The Decision

**dedicated to: masqueradelife and CrayonsPink. for guessing the correct outcome of her answer!!**

**is the suspsence killing you!? well i hope you dont kill me after you read this next chapter. =] i love you all for reading and reviewing this story. reviews make my day. ENJOY!**

**Chapter Ten:**** The Decision**

**Sunday – 12:16am**

"I can't," Mitchie mumbled after minutes of silence.

Shane's eyebrows crinkled together in confusion. "Why not?"

"Hear me out," said Mitchie, repeating the same line Shane used just moments before. "I am a senior. Next Sunday I will finally be graduating from high school; something I've been waiting for since I was in eighth grade. Also, we have prom on Friday. And although I don't seem like the type to want to go to prom, I do want to go. And this is why I can't. I just can't go on tour, not right now."

Mitchie waited for Shane to yell at her screaming how she was passing up the greatest opportunity of her life.

"Say something please," she finally pleaded. "Just tell me I'm an idiot and that I'm making the biggest mistake ever."

Shane looked genuinely baffled. "I would never tell you that. And you aren't making the biggest mistake of your life. It's your life and you're allowed to do whatever you want with it. I'm surprised, needless to say, but a good surprise."

"What?" she asked, looking up into his brown eyes for the first time.

He pulled her into an empty room away from all the noise and chatter. "I honestly didn't know you would out right decline my offer, and that alone surprised me. Most teenage girls would have jumped on the chance to go on tour, to make something of themselves. And the fact that you want to actually finish high school is extremely refreshing. You actually care about your schooling, and you should you're almost done with it forever. I definitely would not want you to miss prom and graduation. You only get one chance to go to each. I would not take that away from you."

She nodded sadly, her dark curls swishing in front of her face. "I feel like I'm letting you down though."

"How? Girl, you have got to be out of your mind?" he joked.

His playfulness caused Mitchie to laugh but then her voice fell soft. "You put all this energy into finding me, and you found me. And then you have to leave," Mitchie finished lamely.

Shane tightened his hold on her. "Is that what you're worrying about? Me leaving you?"

"Shane, I'm trying to think reasonably here. You're going on tour for I don't know how long. Months and months could go by without me ever seeing you or hearing from you. I've become too attached already, and that's what really scares me. I've never felt this strongly for someone in forever basically. And for us to come together as suddenly as we have, I don't know. I'm just really scared. I don't know how I will be able to do this if you're away for long periods at a time. And you're laughing, why are you laughing!?"

Shane couldn't control his laughter. He never pegged Mitchie to be such a worrier.

"Okay, listen. This tour is almost over, and we will be home for a little while before we do anything again. I will come see you every chance I can. Don't be scared, okay? There's nothing to be afraid of." Shane held Mitchie's face in his rough hands, stroking her cheeks affectionately. "I'm not stupid; I'm not going to let something this good get away from me that easily. You're all I think about."

One lone tear dropped from Mitchie's puzzling green eyes. "I know. But I can't. Me being involved with a super star, it would never work. There are so many other girls out there waiting for you to find them. I hate thinking so many other girls are dreaming of the same guy I am. It's just too weird for me. I'm sorry Shane."

Mitchie broke free of Shane's hold her heart shattering into a thousand little pieces. Turning her back on what could have been, Mitchie strode out of the room tears spilling down her face.

**

* * *

**

12:27am

Lola found her before Mitchie even had time to breath. Without even questioning, Lo wrapped her arms around her friend. "Is it time to leave?"

She could barely nod. Lo spotted Shane coming out of a room in the distance; his face torn up. "Come on; let's get you out of here."

The friends pushed their way out of the crowded room. People were now beginning to leave, saying their last goodbyes to the band before they headed off to their next adventure. Leaving without saying goodbye, the two girls clambered their way to the car. Lo helped Mitchie climb into the passenger's seat.

Once Lola had started the car and backed out of the parking lot, she said, "Okay, please tell me what's wrong. You're starting to really scare me."

"I blew it. I totally blew it," answered Mitchie, covering her face with her hands.

"With Shane?"

"Yes with Shane."

"Do explain."

"I semi freaked out in a controlled way. Everything was going perfectly; he had spilled his heart out to me. We almost kissed too. I was starting to think I could let him in, and then everything came crashing down. He asked me if I wanted to go on tour with him. And I couldn't stop myself from freaking out then."

"Woah, wait. He asked you to go on tour? And you said no!?"

"Lo, you know me. I can't just jump into things haphazardly, not putting any thought into them. Plus, we have prom and graduation this week. I can't miss them."

"You could careless about prom, and I'm sure school would still graduate you. You're one of the top students in our class. What's the real reason you won't go on tour? What didn't you tell Shane?"

Mitchie stared out the window, gazing into the starry night. Not long ago she and Shane had been staring at them, perfectly happy. Not anymore, all because of her. "I don't know. Part of me really wants to be able to say I finished high school and have graduated. I've been waiting forever to graduate and move on with my life. Prom is prom and it makes you happy that I'm going so I want to go."

"The other part of you wants to what though?"

"The other part of me is screaming that I'm an idiot. Everything is happening too fast though and you know I don't make good decisions when I'm pressured. First I meet this amazing boy, come to find out that he is an international superstar, then I sing in front of thousands of people, and now a tour? This has all happened in the span on two days. I don't know, I just can't. What if I'm not cut out to be a singer?"

"Oh Mo, you don't give yourself enough credit. It you don't think you are cut out to be a singer why do you write all those songs? Why do you spend hours upon hours trying to come up with a tune you aren't completely disgusted with? Why did you teach yourself to play the guitar? Those are the makings of a true singer. Honestly, I think you would kick ass on tour."

"I don't know. I don't know if I'm ready for something like that."

"You know what I think you're truly afraid of, and why you won't go on tour with Shane? I think you're afraid of letting Shane into your heart and being vulnerable. Even though it sounds totally archaic, I think you're afraid of letting him into your life without the guarantee that he will be there for you forever. And I know it's because of your mom. It's been exactly four years ago, Mo. Four years this summer. I know we rarely talk bout her, and I respect you for not wanting too. But I wish we would. I miss her too. She was like a second mother to me, and I miss her so much sometimes. What happened to your mom, it tore you apart. I know it did. It's taken years for you to even think about dating anyone, for the fear of losing them too."

"Look how quickly you let Shane in. People like him don't come into your life often, and when they do you need to hold onto them like their going to float away."

"You sound like a book of fortunes," mumbled Mitchie.

"Mo, you're my best friend. You have been my best friend since first grade. I am only looking out for you."

"I know," she said softly.

"And I know that whatever you decide to do with your life you are going to be amazing at it."

"I hate that you know me so well," sniffed Mitchie.

Lola smiled. "It's a perk of being friends for ten odd years."

"What should I do?" she finally asked sounding so lost.

Lola's heart broke at the sight of her best friend. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"I have a proposition. How about we go buy some ice cream and watch _She's the Man_ a hundred times."

A small smile crept onto Mitchie's face. "Okay. I could go for some ice cream."

_Don't Stop Believing_ Mo's cell sang loudly.

"How ironic," Lo said sarcastically, smiling.

Mitchie glared at her friend and checked caller ID. Her face fell. "It's Shane."

"Answer it."

"I can't," sighed Mitchie.

Lola looked at her friend pointedly. "Honey, you can't leave him hanging like this. You either got to end it or something."

"I basically broke it off with him tonight. It's not like we were ever anything anyway," she said ignoring the call.

Lo shook her blond head sadly.

"I'll call him tomorrow," promised Mo, turning off her phone.

"Okay," said Lo, not convinced.

"It's girl's night anyway. No boys allowed."

Lola laughed. "Very true! To the store! Let the pig out fest begin!"

**

* * *

**

12:45am

Shane snapped his phone shut for the fourth time. He felt the hinges of the phone give a threatening crack. He didn't care; she wouldn't answer any of his calls. They went straight to voice mail which meant she turned her phone off and she didn't want to talk to him. What had he done wrong? Frustration mounting in his head, he climbed into bed angrily pulling the blankets over his head. He closed his eyes only to see two green eyes staring back on him. He yelled out in anger. He couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Shane, what's going on?" Nate asked, closing the door behind him.

"She won't answer any of my calls. I don't have any idea what I did wrong?"

"I take it she's not coming on tour."

"It's her senior year Nate. Her last week of high school is coming up. She's got prom this weekend and graduation too. I can't expect her to give up those things just for me."

"I'm sorry dude. I know you really like her."

Shane nodded. "I don't know what to do. Everything I do reminds me of her somehow. I close my eyes and I see her face. I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight."

"You're falling for her," stated Nate bluntly.

He had never really looked at it that way but it was clear. Shane was falling for Mitchie Jordan. And now she was falling off his radar.

What was he going to do?


	11. The Shock

**dont kill me!!!! i know im super super late. but here is the next chapter. =] please dont hate me. and please dont hate me for making her say no. its all in the plan. i know exactly what im going to do. =] any suggestions on what you want me to do i will take! i love hearing everyone elses opinions and ideas. now please. dont kill me. i have the next chatper right here for you. hope you love it!**

**Chapter 11:**** The Shock**

**Thursday ****– ****5:16pm**

"I bet you didn't expect to become so famous," said Lola.

It was Thursday and the three friends were at Lola's house. Pre-prom night was in session. The girls gathered around Lola's enormous bathroom giving each other facials and massages.

Mitchie laughed glumly. "Who knew the Teeny Boppers even knew who I was?"

"Who knew they could be so desperate," said Caitlyn. "Desperate does not do them justice either."

The girls shared a loud laugh. "They all want to be your new best friend so that you will take them to cool parties and after parties when you become a famous singer. Plus, there's the fact that you sang on stage with Connect 3 to boost your reputation. People don't have that happen to them everyday."

Just hearing the band name sent a stabbing pain to Mitchie's heart. She had tried to keep herself from dwelling on him the past couple days – and failed. Everything seemed to remind her of him – random things too, like kicking a rock on the sidewalk. It was pitiful, and she knew her friends were dying for information but she just wasn't ready to tell them anything yet. Truth is she hadn't talked to Shane since the last time she saw him. He called her almost every night and left her dozens of text messages, yet she couldn't bring herself to answer any of them. Lola would kill her if she knew.

"Yeah, I guess," sighed Mo, smoothing some gooey green mask onto Caitlyn's face.

"Oh, you are so not allowed to get all depressed now," Lola said. "We have no school tomorrow. We're getting our nails done, hair cuts, hair dos, dressing up. Everything for prom and it's going to be fun whether you like it or not."

"I'll be fine. It's going to be fun!" said Mo flatly.

CC slapped her arm. "Not a good attitude."

"My date is a piece of shit. You got the gorgeous baseball player, which isn't even fair since you are only a junior. I'm a senior, and I got the leftovers. Life sucks."

"Quit your belly aching. We're going to have an amazing night; that's all that matters."

"I can't believe the class president was able to rent out the Staz Hotel. The room is enormous and beautiful!" Lo gushed jumping up from the chair and running to the sink. "This stuff has got to come off!"

Mitchie snorted. "You still have three minutes left."

"Ugh, I don't care. It's bothering me!"

For the next three hours the three friends chatted easily and relaxed. The big day was dawning on them and they couldn't be happier, well at least two of them. They talked all through the night and eventually all fell asleep around 2:30 – talking about their dream prom dates. This final conversation with her friends gave Mitchie enough imagination to drift asleep thinking of the one person she didn't want to be thinking of – Shane.

She never brought him up around them, even though they have tried more than once to get her to talk. Her mouth stayed silent. It proved to be extremely hard sometimes; she wanted more than anything to confide in her friends about Shane but found she was too embarrassed to even mention it. Plus she hadn't told her friends that Shane had texted her almost every day [multiple times] and even calls once a day. Lola and Caitlyn would have her head if they knew she never answered any of them.

Mitchie sighed disgustedly. Why was she being such a stuck up bitch to Shane? He was nothing but perfect to her. Before she could make a decision about anything sleep settled into her brain. Dreams of Shane swirled through her sleep.

Six hours later, CC shook Mitchie hard. "Come on Mo! We got a nail appointment in half and hour! Up, up, up!"

**

* * *

**

Friday – 9:45am

All her stress seemed to evaporate from her as the small lady scrubbed at her feet vigorously. The massage was exactly what she needed. All thoughts of Shane and guilt vanished for the time being.

"This is heaven," sighed Lola gloriously, letting her head fall back against the headrest.

The lady working on Lo's feet mumbled, "You done, follow."

Lola sighed, reluctantly following the impatient lady to the nail stations.

"I don't know how to get my nails done," Mitchie stated, examining her ugly bitten nails. "What are you getting?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I'm not sure yet." She continued to flip through her magazine of _People_. "Oh my Lanta."

"Oh my Lanta what?" asked Mo, glancing up from her hands.

CC slapped the magazine down on the table. "Nothing, the celebrities never cease to disgust me."

"Who is it now?" wondered Mitchie, returning to picking at her nails – not remotely interested.

"No one important," she said quickly.

Mitchie detected something off in her friend's voice. "What are you not telling me?"

Caitlyn looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I learned your I'm-withholding-information-from-you voice a month after I met you."

"True," she said grabbing the magazine. "Here, you look for yourself."

Mitchie snatched the magazine out of CC's hands. Staring up at her was Shane's gorgeous face completely entranced by the gorgeous blond next to him. His arm lay lazily around her while she had a huge white laugh practically jumping off the cover. Anger curled in Mitchie's stomach until it made her sick. The caption read _'Instilling Singer, Shane Gray, cozies up to close friend, Chelsea Staub, after their concert in New York City Monday night.'_

Frantically, Mo opened the magazine and quickly found the page she was looking for. The headline made her gag even more.

_**Rock Star Sets Sights on another New Girl**_

_Days after Shane Gray, Connect 3 sensation, basically confesses his eternal love for Mitchie Jordan, contest winner who sang on stage with the brothers Saturday night, we spot him with one of his close friends._

"_Chelsea [Staub] and Shane have been friends for a really long time," an inside source to the friends told _People_. "They have always been really close; we all wondered when they were going to start dating."_

_These too may look completely adorable together, but what about the other girl. In an interview after their Saturday concert Shane stated, "Mitchie is amazing. I've grown this connection to her extremely fast, but I know it's real. I can feel it when we sing together."_

_How does Shane go from "having a connection" with one girl to hanging out with another girl in three days time. We here at _People_ aren't exactly sure._

_No correspondent for Mitchie Jordan could be contacted with for her comments._

_For right now, it looks like Chelsea is winning this boys heart. Connect 3 has its final concert of their tour this Sunday in Los Angeles, California. It seems Chelsea will be in attendance, where will mystery girl be?_

_This whole story remains anonymity._

The magazine slipped out of Mo's hands, landing with a soft slap on the floor. Caitlyn picked it back up and read through the article herself. Mitchie glanced at the page, completely horrified to see her own face smiling back at her. Another picture of Shane and Chelsea captured the foremost part of the page, but in the corner was a poorly taken picture of her while she was singing on stage.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," exclaimed Caitlyn once she had finished the article. "How could he do such a thing to you? Where does he get any right in acting this way?"

"CC, calm down. It's okay. I broke things off with him anyway. If anything it's my fault I pushed him away from me," admitted Mitchie although she wished it wasn't true.

"Lo come here now," yelled Caitlyn.

Lo held up a finger. "I'm getting my nails done."

"This is urgent!"

The manicurist impatiently applied another line of color before Lo ripped her hand out of the strong grasp. "What is so urgent?"

"Read," demanded CC, thrusting the magazine at her.

Outrage lined Lola's pretty face. "I will hunt him down, torture him, let him breath, and then kill him," huffed Lola. "I can't believe this. How can he even like her? She's not even pretty. Poor taste."

Mitchie took the magazine again. "She's absolutely gorgeous."

"Mo, this is outrageous. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, really I am."

"I don't believe you for a second," said Caitlyn, eyeing her.

Mitchie's face gave way. "I'll be okay."

"I am going to kill him," growled Lola.

**

* * *

**

6:24am

"Shane!"

Shane's head crashed against the window of the plane. He muttered angrily, kneading his fist into his forehead. He opened his eyes to find Jason nearly three inches away from him.

"Dude, back up," rasped Shane. "It's freaking early as hell."

"You were snoring," he answered without a care.

"And that's why you woke me up?"

"Yup," he said happily.

After a moment of angry silence, Jason asked, "What is wrong with you?"

"Besides the fact that you just woke me up from a wonderful sleep, nothing."

Jason didn't dare pressure him anymore or he would have to start to fear for his life. Shane had been like this ever since they'd left New Jersey. He thought that hooking Chelsea up with his brother would help ease out the pain of leaving Mitchie – guess that one backfired.

Shane never talked about her; but everyone figured she was all he ever thought about. Every time Shane thought he was alone he would softly sing their song. He thought she may hear it and come back to him – stupid thought.

Shane didn't know what to do, and Jason felt he couldn't help him out either. Although he loved to tease his younger brother, seeing him in so much pain was heart-wrenching.

Their mother appeared at their seats. Why was everyone up so goddamn early?

"Honey, what's wrong?" she asked, taking the seat opposite them.

He shook his messy head; it was too early in the morning for explanations he didn't want to have to give.

"Shane, it's not good to let this eat away at you. It's not healthy."

No change showed in his face.

"Sweetie, I know this is about Mitchie. I wish you would talk to me about it. I'm sorry she couldn't come on tour; maybe she isn't ready for it."

"She is ready," he said abruptly.

"You can't force her into something she doesn't want to do."

"I know, but she would be so great," Shane said sadly, looking longingly out to the clouds.

"You really like her," she said simply.

"I do."

"Then what are you going to do about it?"

**

* * *

**

4:57pm

"One more twirl!" Mitchie's father, Jeffery, said, admiring his eldest daughter.

Mitchie smiled but obeyed her father's wish. Her bright yellow dress flowed magnificently. The long halter dress clipped together at the nape of her neck leaving an exposed back that dipped practically to the top of her butt. The front hugged her body, showing every curve and cleavage line without overbearing. A few gems were scattered along the halter and breasts. Although it sounded a little whore-ish, the dress was perfectly elegant and beautiful. Mitchie felt like a princess.

To save time on getting ready, Mitchie's friends applied her makeup and did her hair at Mitchie's house.

Lola [the magical cosmetologist] transformed Mitchie's everyday boring, long, wavy brown hair into a hippie meets chic. Lo had curled her entire head into tight, springy curls. Once they were curled to her liking, Lo bobby pinned part of Mo's hair into an elegant yet messy bun, leaving more than half of her curls hanging down her back. She then used a curling iron to give the hairs framing Mitchie's face a more twisted and tight look. For a final touch, Lo wrapped a thin yellow ribbon around Mo's forehead. Surprisingly, the look pulled off.

"Unique yet perfect!" Caitlyn had squealed.

It was then CC's turn to turn Mitchie's plain face into something totally different. Caitlyn decided to go big with the makeup. She applied a thin line of yellow eye shadow underneath her eyes, topped with a line of shimmery purple eye liner. For the top lids, CC mixed a light shade of purple with a sky blue. The effect looked insanely amazing.

Who knew Mitchie had such artistic friends.

"Mo, follow me," her father motioned, walking down the length of the hallway to his room.

He traipsed to the dresser, rummaged through a box for a moment, then walked back to her. In his hands dangled a necklace.  
"Dad," she hesitated once she saw the necklace.

"Let me put it on," he said quickly.

"I can't. I co–."

"She wanted you to have it," he said simply, closing the clasp around Mitchie's neck.

Mitchie gazed at her reflection in the mirror, fingering the small diamond.

"She mentioned she wanted you to wear it for prom since she wore it for hers. It's beautiful. You're beautiful, Sweetie."

Emotion blubbered out of her usually strong hold. She squeezed her arms around her father. "Thank you Daddy, I love it so much."

He hugged her back tightly.

"I miss her so much," she whispered.  
"I miss her too Mo," he echoed.

Mitchie sniffed.

"No crying. You won't have time to put all that crap back on your face."

Mitchie managed to laugh. "Only you would manage to make me laugh at something like that."

The doorbell rang interrupting their moment.

"Time for your last dance ever," he said somberly, drawing her into his arms one last time.

"I love you Daddy."

"I love you too, baby girl."


	12. The Prom

**thanks reviewers!! you all make me very happy. im glad you love the story sooo much. cause i loove writing it. i got this chatper up quickly because i took forever on the last one. and this ones longer than the others. =] i know you are all expecting certain things but im not telling you anything thats gonna happen!! your just going to have to be surprised. please review and tell me how you like it. it makes my day to get reviews. I LOOVE YOU ALL! enjoy. =]**

**Chapter 12:**** The Prom**

**Friday 8:11pm**

"Please force me to have fun tonight," Mitchie muttered to Caitlyn as they exited the limo.

Her friends wrapped their slender arms around Mitchie's body. "We are going to have so much fun!" yelled Lola happily. "I can feel it."

Lo extracted herself from them and ran towards the entrance to the hotel screaming, "Ah prom!"

"This is going to be a long night," sighed Mitchie by CC's side.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes. "Drama queen."

**

* * *

**

9:52pm

"Are you having fun?!" Lola asked dancing seductively around Mo.

"Everyone keeps staring at me," she told her friends.

"Or they could be staring at Lo," suggested Caitlyn. "I think she is trying to make a complete fool of herself."

"Am not!" yelled Lo. "I'm just having fun, and Mo they are staring at you because you look sexy!"

"No, it's cause they all know about me singing last week. I don't like it."

"Ignore them," advised CC.

"I can't. I need air."

Mitchie pushed her way out of the room oblivious to the shouts coming from her friends and date.

The fresh air never felt so good on Mo's tense bones. She practically tripped over a drunk couple cuddled together on the stairs.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

The couple yelled at her as she stumbled along in her high heels and dress.

A vacant bench underneath a tree of twinkling lights invited her tired body to rest. Tears instantly fell from her perfectly constructed eyes. All her emotions spilling out from her: all the stress, all the sadness, all the confusion. Every tear symbolized another ailment in her life. Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement towards her. Caitlyn rushed into view.

"You wanna talk about it?" asked CC, sitting on the bench next to her.

"I think I'm losing it," stated Mitchie dully.

Caitlyn hugged her friend, holding her tight to her chest. "You are not losing it. You're just in love."

The full meaning of Caitlyn's words struck Mo squarely in the heart.

"How did this all happen? How could I let myself push him away so easily? How could I even think about letting someone like him go?"

There was no stopping the tears now. Mitchie dropped her face into her hands and sobbed. She looked ridiculous.

"Mo, it's okay."

"No, it's not. I pushed away the only guy that I ever let get close to me. I'm so stupid. Why didn't you tell me to stop being stupid?"

"You're not stupid," she said calmly, rubbing Mo's bare back. "You were afraid and you didn't know any better. Everyone makes mistakes; it's not the end of the world. You make mistakes and then you learn from them. That's just life."

"I hate life," Mo lied. "I'm never going to see him again. I've really lost him for good, and there's nothing I can do about it."

"There will be other boys, plenty of them. Maybe even whole seas of them," ranted Caitlyn. "I know you will be okay. You're freaking Mitchie Jordan, you can do anything. Plus, I think if you really wanted to work things out with Shane it would work. I think he's as broken hearted as you are."

Mitchie nodded and took a long look at her raven haired friend through bleary eyes. "What am I going to do without you next year?"

"That is a whole other conversation I'm so not ready to have yet," her friend said sadly. "Come on; let's go enjoy the rest of your prom."

"I dunno. I think I might cut out early."

Caitlyn stood, pulling Mitchie up with her. "At least stay to watch them crown King and Queen."

"Okay, but only for Lo. Then I'm as gone as N*SYNC."

Caitlyn laughed. "We can bye, bye, bye together. It's not even my prom. Plus my dates kind of full of himself."

"Deal," Mitchie said smiling for what felt like the first time in days.

"One question," CC said. "Have you talked to him at all since he's been gone?"

"Truthfully, no."

Caitlyn shook her head. "Oh well. Hurry, I think I hear Principal Wallens talking. It's almost time for the crowning!"

**

* * *

**

10:15pm

"Boys and girls! How's Prom 2009?!" yelled Principal Wallens into the microphone.

The entire room cheered their approval. It took several minutes for the principal to quiet down all the rowdy seniors to minimum level.

"Quiet! It's time to announce this years Prom 2009 Senior Court! As you all know the final selections to Court were made this week. Are you ready to know this years Court members?" Another round of yells, shouts, and cheers followed – he would never learn. "The 2009 Senior Prom Girls Court is as follows: Carley Jones, Melissa Bowls, Jamie Tantam, Lola Tanner, and Mitchie Jordan!"

Mitchie entered the ballroom as Principal Wallens called out her own name. She looked around at Caitlyn wondering if she had heard him too. She must have because CC was pushing her towards the stage up front. "Go Mo."

Mitchie moved to the stage slowly, wondering how on earth she was selected to the Court. All eyes followed her every move until she stopped next to Lola in line – they still watched her as she stood there. She had never expected this in a hundred years. Lola smiled at her gratefully, bumping her hip to Mo's.

"You're a celebrity now," she whispered. "I told you so."

Dumbfounded, Mitchie squinted into the bright spot light. You think she would have been used to huge spot lights after her stint with singing. The stage she sang on was much bigger and brighter than this one. But she still wasn't completely used to being the center of attention.

A movement in the back of the ballroom caught her eye. She strained her brown eyes even more but could only make out a poor outline of a body. The form vanished quickly. She shook her head; her imagination was running wild again.

"And Prom Princess is Mitchie Jordan!"

Her name again – what was it this time? A huge smile covered Lola's entire face. Mo forced herself to move to center stage where Principal Wallens was waiting with her tiara. He gently placed the tiara atop her head. "Congratulations," he mouthed to her with a smile.

"Prom Prince is Andrew Greene!"

Mitchie stepped off to the side with Andrew and waited for Queen and King to be announced. The reality of the situation had yet to dawn on her. Last week she was some brooding musician who favored good classic rock to rap and barely knew half the senior class. Now she was Prom Princess – unreal.

"And now it is time to announce Prom King and Queen of 2009! Your Queen is the beautiful and fashionable Lola Tanner! And Prom King is Benjamin Flat!"

**

* * *

**

10:24pm

"Ah congratulations Lo!" screamed Caitlyn once the three girls were reunited. "And Mo! That was totally unexpected!"

"Yeah, you could say that again."

"That was totally unexpected!"

"I didn't mean literally tell me again," said Mo quietly, laughing at her friend.

"Oh be excited!" yelled Lola. "We're seniors and the best ones of them all!" The crown seemed to give Lo a sense of arrogance that she normally didn't have – ha, yeah right. Her gloating was excessive but allowable, she was just crowned Queen of Prom.

"What time is it?" asked Mitchie, glancing to the exit.

"Oh no," Lola said. "You are not going anywhere. Andrew is coming over here, and I think he may want his dance now."

True enough, Andrew Greene moved through the crowd toward Mitchie. She couldn't help but size him up as he approached her. She couldn't deny it; he was absolutely gorgeous. Although his gorgeousness was the complete opposite of her usual style – aka Shane – she still found him deeply attractive. His close cropped blond hair accented her extremely sharp bone structure. A deep tan brought the question to her – did he tan? Or was it natural? Not to mention he was at least a foot or so taller than her. She could tell from the way his tux clung to his body that he was muscular. He was no Shane.

"So Mo, I think you owe me a dance or something of the sort," his low voice drawled in a think Jersey accent.

Mitchie felt herself blushing, was she attracted to him? "I guess I have too."

Obvious answer: yes.

She heard Lola and Caitlyn squeal from behind her as Andrew led her onto the dance floor. The up-tempo rap song transitioned into a slow love ballad. How fitting, Mitchie grumbled. Andrew wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her closer.

"How are you doing?" he asked sweetly.

"I'm doing okay," she said truthfully. "How's your prom going so far?"

"Let's just say the highlight is being able to dance with you. My date left earlier with a friend of mine."

"Wow, ouch. I'm sorry," she said sadly. "That must suck."

"Well, like I said, it's gotten much better now," he said smiling. "I'm dancing with the beautiful princess of the ball."

Mitchie blushed again. If she kept this up her face would turn into a tomato.

"I didn't know yellow could look so good on someone," Andrew said, running his hand over the smooth fabric.

Awkward shivers shot through her body, like something that happens when you're not sure how to feel about it. It wasn't those pleasant shivers she experienced with –.

"You don't look half bad yourself," she tried, looking over his black tux to try and prove her point that she meant it.

A warm smile spread across his face. "Tell me about yourself. It seems you've become an over night sensation, and I do not know why."

Mitchie smiled, score one for Andrew. She decided it was a good thing that he didn't know about the concert and singing. It meant he wanted to dance with her because, well she was princess, but also because he wanted too.

"I sang with Connect 3 the other night."

"The boy band that came to our school?" His passive tone irked Mitchie, and she felt the sudden want to defend her boys.

Did she really just say _her_ boys?

"Yeah, and their not that bad."

Andrew chuckled. "Don't get all offensive, I was just asking. My little sister actually listens to them; she went to the concert on Saturday." Mitchie could practically see the wheels turning in his head. "Oh wow, so you're the girl that sang with the guy. My sister loves you. She actually asked me if I knew you but she didn't remember your name."

Her defensive wall melted away. "You sister liked me?"

"Siri loved you; she couldn't stop talking about how pretty you were or how good of a singer you were. I think she may be your number one fan."

Elation soared in Mitchie. She had a number one fan. "I'd love to meet her."

"She would be beyond thrilled."

"Cool," she said, feeling her pride mount.

"Plus, I wouldn't mind hanging out with you a little more," he said sheepishly.

The feeling of awkwardness set back into her system. Andrew was incredibly nice and good-looking and sweet, but everything she didn't want. Or he wasn't Shane. She could sense that he was hoping to hang out as more than friends, and at this moment she wasn't looking for anything of the sort. Maybe they could hang out as friends and nothing more. Yeah, let's hope that worked.

"Yeah," she said slightly. "That would be fun."

Andrew looked over her shoulder, curiosity in his navy blue eyes. Shane's eyes were brown. Ugh, she needed to stop doing that.

"What?" asked Mo, turning her head.

"Your friends?" he asked laughing at the sight of Lola and Caitlyn jumping up and down, clapping.

"Unfortunately," she muttered. "I think they want me to introduce you."

He laughed again. "Let's not keep them waiting."

**

* * *

**

11:30pm

"Prom is almost over," Lo said sadly, hanging onto Mitchie.

The pair were dancing together in the center of the dance floor, completely oblivious to others dancing around them.

"It's been fun," Mitchie lied.

"Andrew seems nice."

"He is nice."

"But…"

"But what?"

"I feel a but coming."

Mitchie shrugged.

"But he's not Shane," Lola said finally. "Love, you have to make a decision here. I know you don't want to think about him at the moment, but you need to decide. You have a completely delicious boy here that wants to hang out with you and maybe eventually date you. Or you have a completely hunkadoris boy that wants you to go on tour with him and sing sweet love music to each other. It's one or the other."

"Do I have to choose?"

"Either you choose one or choose none. But you have got to make a decision sooner or later. You can't lead on every boy out there."

"I know," Mitchie admitted. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you need to do some serious soul searching," said Lola the stopped. "Screw that. That sounds seriously effed up. Think: who would make you happier in the long run? Who would you want to make you happier in the long run? Do you see either? All you have to do is look deep down inside of yourself. I know the answer is already in you, you just gotta find it."

"Even when you're loopy you make complete sense. How do you do it?"

"It's all in the genes love," giggled Lo, twirling around the floor.

"May I cut in for a moment?" Andrew asked, interrupting them.

Lola nodded eagerly. "I'll see you later."

Mitchie rolled her eyes at her friend. "Didn't know you would miss me so much already?" teased Mitchie.

"Me either," he played along. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me after prom. We could hit up a party or go to after prom or something."

"After prom sounds better, I don't drink," stated Mo.

"Really? That's pretty cool. You will be a good role model for my sister," he said.

"What do you mean?" she wondered.

"Well, she told me that you are planning to go on tour with the band."

"How does she figure that?"

"I guess she read it on some fan website somewhere."

"Oh." Mitchie didn't know what to make of that comment. She had told Shane she wasn't going to go on tour with them because of prom and graduation. Did he figure that after those things were out of the way she would come crawling back to him, begging him to take her on tour? Was she that desperate sounding?

"What's going on in your head?" he asked sincerely.

Mitchie looked into his navy blue eyes wanting some kind of spark to ignite in her body but none ever came. It was completely platonic. Since he was a friend, she might as well tell her how she was feeling – right?

"A lot of things actually. I told them I wouldn't go on tour with them right now because of prom and graduation."  
"Wow, you're extremely level headed. I would have peaced out if I was asked on tour."

"Or I'm completely stupid."

Andrew smiled sadly. "I'm sure if they really wanted you on tour they would wait for you to be ready."

Mitchie never thought of the situation that way. "Excuse me for a minute. I have to go to the bathroom."

She pushed herself away from Andrew and bolted for the bathroom. She needed time – time to think. If Shane had really wanted her he would have waited? It seems logical, but he didn't wait. So what does that mean? Why would Shane never suggest that alternative unless he didn't really want her on tour? All these questions clogged her mind, giving her no room to even ponder answers.

She looked at her reflection in the wall length mirror. Water glistened behind her dull brown eyes for the hundredth time tonight – she was becoming a cry baby. Her once pretty hair looked flat. Her makeup looked too gaudy for her. What had she been thinking? There was no way anyone like Shane would ever find her attractive. Or even Andrew. No one would ever know the real her.

A nagging voice sounded in her head saying _'Shane knows the real you'_. It sounded vaguely like Caitlyn – curse you CC!

Ringing interrupted her silent scream at Caitlyn. Mo looked around the bathroom wondering whose phone was going off. She noticed she was the only one in there, so it must be hers.

"Oh," she sighed, extracting her ringing cell phone from her chest.

_One new text_ the screen glowed. Mitchie flipped it open.

_Wher R U?_

_CC3_

Speak of the devil herself. Mitchie sent back.

_Bathroom break._

Within seconds Caitlyn burst through the bathroom door completely out of breath.

"What's wrong?" was Mitchie's first reaction.

"You need to come, now," she said between breaths.

"What? What's going on?" Worry written all over Mo's face.

Caitlyn grabbed her friend's arm and pulled. "You're going to want to see this for yourself."

**WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN!?!?!**

**i love cliffhangers. hahahah im evil i know.**


	13. The Happiness

**short and sweet. =] you are going to love this. and if you dont. you have something wrong with you. just kidding loves. keep reviewing! they make me get all happy inside.**

**Chapter Thirteen:**** The Happiness**

**11:44pm**

"What is going on?" asked Mitchie for the hundredth time. The urgency in Caitlyn's haste was really starting to freak her out.

Caitlyn stopped abruptly, her body blocking the entrance to the ballroom. "Now, what you're going to see I had absolutely nothing to do with. Although I wish I would have," she said to herself.

"What are you talking about?!" demanded Mo, stamping her foot angrily.

CC stepped aside allowing Mitchie to pass her to the doors. She grabbed Mo's arm and led her over the threshold. "See for yourself."

Mitchie's eyes glazed over the dimly lit ballroom looking for something out of the ordinary. Standing on her tip toes, she attempted to see over the heads of the prom goers – it was no use.

"CC, I don't even know what I'm looking for," she told her anxious friend who was now jumping up and down slightly.

"Look closely," said CC giddily.

"Are you okay?" wondered Mitchie.

"Just look!"

Being able to see closely was hindered by the fact that all the lights in the ballroom suddenly disappeared. The whole room was bathed in darkness. Murmurs traveled through the groups – what was going on?

"Can't see anything," Mitchie muttered to CC, her patience was slowly going.

"Just wait."

She hadn't noticed until right then that the ballroom was completely quiet. Save for the few murmurs a moment ago, no other sound or music filled the cavernous room. As awkwardly as it might sound, the seniors and their dates didn't seem to mind the sudden darkness. An excited vibe hushed through the crowd, something big was about to happen. The wheels were working in Mitchie's head. Her mouth slowly fell open, frightened.

"Oh my God, Caitlyn! This is turning into that movie! What if there's a killer on the loose in there?! I don't wanna go in there now!"

Mitchie backed away from the entrance, shuddering in terror. She fell into Caitlyn who had planted herself in Mitchie's way. "Oh, quit your whining. Don't you think they would all be screaming their guys out if the lights were turned off without warning?"

She had a point there. Mitchie glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye; she definitely knew more than she was letting on.

So if there wasn't a killer on the loose, then why were the lights off? And why did CC think the crowd had already known about it? Too many questions.

Movement and hushed chatter were coming from the front – the stage. Someone was definitely moving on stage. Mitchie focused on the stage but her eyes had not yet adjusted to the sudden darkness. What was going on?

The high squeak of the microphone being way too close to the speakers screeched throughout the room. Everyone grabbed at their ears and shouted their dismay.

"S-sorry!" an unfamiliar, yet familiar, voice said into the mic.

Every head turned the stage, their focus going to the unfamiliar person now on stage. Curious little buggers they all were.

"Everyone having a good night?!" Mystery Boy asked, followed by a few shouts of who-are-you?! "Sorry to interrupt your night but I fear I'm looking for this really special girl."

"We all are dude!" some senior football player yelled.

"Classy," muttered Mo, still trying to get a good look of the guy.

The voice continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "Like I said, I'm looking for this really cute girl, probably wearing yellow."

Mitchie looked at Caitlyn whose face lit up like a little girl receiving her first Barbie doll. Her friend needed to learn to lie better. Ignoring the yellow comment, Mo didn't move from her spot at the door.

"Too many girls wearing yellow dresses? How about a girl with curly hair?"

Some feeling tugged at her, something she had been trying to push away for days but couldn't. She closed her tired eyes willing her sense of sound to figure out the person on stage. Who in all that is Boston and Journey was up there?!

"Too many girls wearing yellow dresses and have curly hair? What about a girl who is probably frustrated beyond belief because she can't figure out who I am?"

Her eyes shot open. "It can't be."

Choosing to disregard CC's winning smile, Mitchie walked, almost mesmerizingly, towards the stage.

"None? I think I have a solution." Shuffling was heard on stage followed by, "Thank you man."

The soft playing of one lone guitar sounded from the stage, followed by the world's most perfect voice ever. "Every time I think I'm closer to the heart. Of what means to know just who I am. I think I finally found a better place to start. But no one ever seems to understand."

Her heart raced faster than she ever imagined it could beat. "I need to try to get to where you are. Could it be you're not that far?"

People parted like the red sea, allowing her to easily amble toward the stage. Her eyes didn't stray from the front. Lola, her date, and even Andrew passed by her in a daze. Nothing fazed her. She needed to get to the voice. Every strum, every tone of the guitar vibrated off her heart effecting places in her she never thought possible.

"You're the voice I hear inside my head. The reason that I'm singing. I need to find you. I gotta find you." Their eyes connected. Every fiber in her body hummed with thrill, excitement, and shock. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

"You're the missing piece I need. The song inside of me. I need to find you. I gotta find you. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah," he sang softly, showing off his talent on the guitar.

The song.

Their song.

He was up there, on stage, during her prom, singing their song.

The song he wrote for her.

For his voice.

For his missing piece.

It was all for her.

Does this get anymore surreal?

"You're the remedy I'm searching hard to find. To fix the puzzle that I see inside. Painting all my dreams the color of your smile. When I find you it will be alright."

His eyes never moved from hers. She could feel the power of his words, the power of his song, through, not only his voice, but his eyes. Through the little light there was Mitchie could read his eyes perfectly. They were the easiest part of his body to read. And at this moment, his eyes read nothing but love and adoration.

"I need to try to get to where you are. Could it be you're not that far? You're the voice I hear inside my head. The reason that I'm singing. I need to find you. I gotta find you. You're the missing piece I need. The song inside of me. I need to find you. I gotta find you," he belted into the microphone.

So powerful was his meaning. So powerful that no one else in the ballroom probably knew the exact effect this was having on her.

"Been feeling lost, can't find the words to say. Spending all my time, stuck in yesterday. Where you are is where I wanna be. Oh next to you, and you next to me. Oh, I need to find you… yeah!"

She was so close yet she stopped in front of the stage. No one else stood between them now. It was just her, twenty feet, the stage, and him. In the midst of all that was occurring, people quickly understood what was taking place. Someone from behind her pushed her forward slightly, egging her to go on stage. She didn't move, she couldn't move. She was enthralled by his voice and eyes.

"You're the voice I hear inside my head. The reason that I'm singing. I need to find you. I gotta find you. Yeah, yeah you're the missing piece I need. The song inside of me. I need to find you. I gotta find you. I gotta find you," he sang softly, ending his sweet song. His guitar continued to beat out the beautiful melody.

She was onstage now. Someone had picked her up and placed her there – right in front of him. Along the way a mic had been thrust into her hands. She looked at it as if it might bite her. With an encouraging nod, he glanced to her hands and smiled.

Slowly yet confidently she brought the device to her mouth. "You're the voice I hear inside my head. The reason that I'm singing. I need to find you. I gotta find you. You're the missing piece I need. The song inside of me. I need to find you. I gotta find you," she sang quietly.

"Yeah, yeah. I gotta find you," he concluded with a whisper, allowing the guitars final strum to echo throughout ballroom.

For an eternity, the pair stood onstage – just gazing into each others eyes, both of them not wanting to break the moment. He broke the tension first by pulling her into his firm waiting arms. A feeling of completeness burrowed in them both – this feeling had been present for days.

"I've missed you so much," he whispered in her ear – only she could hear.

"I'm so sorry."

"For what?" His voice was puzzled.

"For ever doubting you."

He drew back from her, staring into the depths of her eyes again. "God, you're beautiful," he murmured appreciatively.

"Just kiss her already!" someone cheered – someone sounding very much like her friend Lola – and everyone yelled their agreement.

Mitchie flushed with embarrassment, remembering for the first time in minutes that there were other people in the room with them. His crooked smile warmed her already heated face. He brought one calloused hand to graze her cheek, sending more shoots of fire and shivers through her body. When would she stop feeling like this when he touched her or even looked at her?

Hopefully never.

In the background, a chant had started. "Kiss her! Kiss her! Kiss her!"

"Let's give them a show," whispered Shane, inches from her face.

**

* * *

**

12:27am

Prom 2009 was over, but the excitement and giddiness had yet to subside from inside Mitchie.

Once the dance ended, Mitchie, Lola, and Caitlyn returned to Lola's house to change into something more comfortable. Caitlyn wore jean shorts and a red tank with a white jacket over top. Lola picked out a rather short green skirt and a white fitted shirt. Mitchie decided on a pair of white soft Bermuda shorts and a loose purple tank. After-prom apparel as Lo liked to call it.

The girls met back up with the boys including Shane's brothers. Mitchie had a feeling that the dates were going to be snubbed aside by the rock stars. They all sat around a table outside of a small ice cream shop.

Mitchie sat down between Shane and Nate. "Didn't you guys have a concert tonight?"

Jason nodded. "The tours been postponed until further notice."

"Why?" Lola asked incredulously, not believing her ears.

"Well, we decided we are going to take the summer off," Nate said. "Then we will start back up with a new tour at the end of summer."

"Why?" asked Caitlyn, licking her mint chocolate chip ice cream cone.

"We want a little break for awhile," said Shane. "We want to be able to have a real summer for once."

Mitchie smiled as Shane's eyes fell on her. The group instantly fell into a conversation involving all the things the brothers needed to do this summer. Shane leaned towards her and asked, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

She nodded shyly. "I would love too."

The pair excused themselves from the group to knowing smiles from their friends. She ignored every single one of her friend's enormous grins.

They strolled along silently for a minute, each intent on their ice cream. Shane broke the silence. "So I have a question to ask you."

"Shoot," said Mo, her eyes lifting to gaze at the stars.

"I know I asked you this before, but hey, it never hurts to ask again," he said with a laugh. "What I'm trying to ask you is... would you like to go on tour with us next fall?"

"Yes," she agreed instantly.

"I understand if you don't want to with college and everything," he said as if he hadn't heard her answer.

"Shane, I said yes!"

He stopped walking. "Really?" Shock registered in his voice. "Are you sure about this?"

"I've never been more sure about anything."

He let out a huge sigh of relief. "That was almost too easy."

"Well, I've had a lot of time to rethink my answer to last time. I think at the time I wasn't ready. You caught me off guard and I panicked. I don't do well in situations like that. But I've had a lot of time to think, and I think I will be ready by fall."

Without warning, Shane scooped her up and twirled her around whooping gleefully. "I know you are ready. You could tour right now you are that ready."

"Don't get ahead of yourself now," she giggled.

Shane stopped spinning her and smiled at Mitchie in a way that gave her Goosebumps.

"What?" she asked awkwardly.

He ran a hand through his ungelled hair – very uncharacteristic of him. "You just do this thing to me where I can't think straight sometimes and all I can do is smile. Otherwise if I tried to talk it wouldn't make any sense. Kind of like what I'm doing right now," he rushed.

"I didn't even do anything," stated Mitchie, feeling very self-conscious of herself.

"That's exactly it; you don't have to do anything. You could just look at me and my mind goes bonkers. You make me so nervous sometimes."

She made Shane Gray nervous – who would have thought?

Mitchie simply grabbed Shane's rough hand and continued to walk down the sidewalk. "Not to darken this perfect moment or anything, I just need to know one thing."

Shane nodded eagerly, clearly unaware of what she was going to ask him.

"I was reading a magazine the other day and I read something."

"What?" he asked his flawless face darkening.

"Something about you and a girl named Chelsea," she said slowly, unsure of how to approach this topic without sounding like a completely jealous fool.

He remained silent so she continued. "I just wanted to know if there was anything going on with her."

He stared off into the distance, a contemplating look on his face. "Mitchie," he finally said, holding her in his arms. "You need to know, first off, that everything these magazines print is not true. Yes, I hung out with Chelsea the other night, only for a little while. We are good friends and have been for a long time. All I did the whole time was complain to her about how much I missed you. I'm sure she was completely annoyed by my whininess. It was actually her idea to crash your prom."

Mitchie felt herself warming up to the girl. "Really?"

"Yeah, she's brilliant. Anyway, she is secretly dating someone else right now. I would never date her anyway, I don't think of her like that. She is like the sister I never had. She also mentioned she couldn't wait to meet you."

"Really?" she said again.

"Really, really. You have absolutely nothing to worry about," he said so sincerely she had no choice but to believe him.

"Okay," she finally said, all her worries flying away with the warm breeze.

"Anything else you would like to ask?"

Millions of questions burned inside of her to be spoken but she held back. There would be plenty of time to ask him later.

"No, everything is perfect," she said cuddling into his chest, "now."

Right here, right now, all that mattered was that they were together.

At last.

**** did you love it or what?? im planning on having a couple more chapters. but after that im not sure what im going to do. suggestions or thoughts of what you think or want me to do is very welcome!! sequel, maybe? and if sequel, where do i start from? all help is welcome!! and thank you all so much who have read every chapter ive thrown out there. it really means a lot to me. =]**


	14. The End

**=] i love my reviewers. im glad i could make your day cee10155!! hopefully this will make your day even better. this is the final chapter of the story. i think i will definitely do a sequel. i just love these people way too i wouldnt wanna let down all my reviewers. =] so thank you all who have reviewed this story and have stuck with me through it all. thank the lord for snow in virginia. ive had so many snow days to write. hopefully ill have the sequel up soon!! thanks again to everyone. it means the world to me. =] and here we goo....**

**Chapter Fourteen:**** The End**

**Saturday – 9:33am**

"Hello class of 2009 and friends and family. I stand before you as a fellow student, a companion, and a friend," Mitchie recited to her reflection in the mirror. "No, no, no! This is just horrendous!"

She stared at her profile wishing for it to speak some words of wisdom, or at least tell her that this speech really did suck. What was she supposed to say to a bunch of classmates that barely knew her? They don't care what she has to say or what she thinks. They never have. She would be surprised if half of them even knew her personally.

Principal Wallens told her that the speech needed to be formal yet inspirational. How did those two work together? Mitchie wished someone would tell her because she was getting nowhere and graduation was moving steadily closer.

"Formal," she spoke to the mirror. "Inspirational. Yeah, so not my forte."

All she could think of was extremely sarcastic remarks that would probably result in the revocation of her diploma. That did not need to happen. She tried to think really hard but all the thoughts in her mind were suffocated with sarcastic remarks, classic rock tunes, and Shane.

Shane, she sighed.

The events of last night replayed over and over in her mind. Shane showing up and singing his heart out to her in front of the whole senior class was something she never imagined happening in her life – ever. Then he asked her to join them on tour – again. This time she said yes, which was what she should have said last time. Better late than never. The rest of the night Shane and her hung out talking about nothing and everything. It was the most perfect prom.

Only bad thing was she had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn this morning to finalize her speech. Whoever thought of making graduation the day after prom was ridiculously insane. She half expected the whole senior class to either not come at all, or show up hung-over. The administration was almost cruel in doing this to them, but she guessed they figured if you really wanted to graduate you would make the effort to show up to graduation after prom. Evil little buggers.

A knock and thump from the bedroom startled Mitchie so badly she dropped her straightener, leaving a nice, long red burn mark along her arm. "Ow," she said forgetting all about the noise from the other room.

She turned on the water and ran her arm through the coolness. "That makes it hurt even more," she said, holding her arm like it was going to fall off.

"Mo!" called Shane from her bedroom.

"I'm in here you numnut," replied Mitchie, drying off her throbbing arm.

Shane appeared at the door and all thoughts of her throbbing arm disappeared. He dressed casually in distressed jeans and an emerald green button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. God, he looked delectable.

"What was that you called me?" he asked, an amused expression on his even more appealing face.

Even his voice stalled her brain and every other part of her body that allowed her to speak or move. "A numnut," she finally said after she regained consciousness. "Look what you did."

Mitchie shoved her arm in his direction while she tried not to look him in the eye. Who knows what would happen if she looked him in the eye? She didn't feel like fainting all over the ground right now – how unattractive. You would think she'd be passed this stage of his overwhelmingly good-looks and charm, but no. Not even Mitchie Jordan could build up an immunity to Shane Gray – damn him.

"I'm so sorry Mo-Mo, I did not mean to do that at all," he said, tenderly running his fingers over the fresh burn.

She gasped when she felt his cool lips touch the burn.

"Did that hurt?" he asked instantly.

"No, not really," she said, her mind spinning.

Shane trickled some water over the burn which surprisingly helped tremendously.

"Better?"

"Much," she said thankfully. "Couldn't you have used the door like any other normal person would do, instead of causing this to happen?"

"Now have you ever taken me for being a boring old normal person?" wondered Shane, his infamous grin crinkled his merry brown eyes together.

Damn, she had looked him in the eyes. He either didn't register the fact that she was practically drooling over him, or he chose to ignore her by plopping his bum onto the bathroom counter. "What are you doing exactly?"

"Getting ready for graduation and trying to come up with a decent speech."

"Wasn't the speech supposed to be done like weeks ago?"

"Maybe," she said unconvincingly. "I'm a procrastinator. I can't help it. Presidents revise their speeches until they practically make it to the podium, I can do that too."  
"Whatever President Mo," he said playfully. "Let me read this infamous speech." He snatched the papers out of her hand before she could even react.

"No!" yelled Mo, reaching for the terrible speech.

Shane kept her arm away from the paper. He silently read it to himself, a bored expression on his face. Once he finished, he eagerly gave it back to her.

"Did it suck that bad?" she asked.

"It didn't really suck," he said matter-of-factly. "It was just… stiff. It so doesn't express you at all either."

"How should I fix it?"

Shane dropped off the counter and paced. "Think of your speech like a song. You have to write it from the heart for it to mean something to anyone. None of this fluffy, sugar coated stuff that tells everyone you were all best friends. It's gotta be real, you gotta be real."

"Real," she muttered. "I can be real."

**

* * *

**

11:27am

Lola grabbed Mitchie's shaking hand, giving her an encouraging squeeze. Mo gave her a strained smile and continued to twirl a piece of her long, surprisingly straight hair – nervous habit she needed to break.

"Mo, relax. You're going to do fine," Lo said smiling, squeezing her hand again.

Mitchie nodded, not really listening to Lola's encouragement. Her eyes had not moved from the podiums for the last ten minutes. An English teacher she had in ninth grade was currently speaking as the class's guest speaker. Any minute now she would be ending her speech and Mitchie's name would be slipping through her lips.

"It's my pleasure to introduce the class of 2009's salutatorian, Mitchie Jordan!"

Polite claps sounded through the cavernous auditorium. Mitchie rose from her seat slowly. She took a breath before marching purposefully up the stairs that led to the podium. It took exactly sixty seven steps for her to reach center stage and face the entire senior grade and many more. She shuffled and reshuffled her note cards before glancing at the audience.

She wished she hadn't – looked at the audience that is. Faces, unfamiliar and familiar alike, dotted the enormous crowd that had gathered to see them all graduate. All those faces waited for her to say something. She searched the crowd for the one face that would calm her whole body.

He was there, in the upper corner, seated next to her father and Caitlyn in the ridiculous looking costume they had conducted for him. He wanted to blend in with the crowd as much as he could. This was her day he kept reminding her, he didn't want to ruin it for her. Even from hundreds of feet away, Mitchie could see the smile that radiated off his face. Visually and mentally she relaxed.

Clearing her throat she began. "_'So many times it happens too fast. You change your passion for glory. Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past. You must fight just to keep them alive.'_ From the words of Survivor, these lyrics can define so many moments of high school. To some, high school goes by in a flash. It seems like yesterday that we were all freshman entering Passaic High for the first time ever. Frightened by the upper classmen, scared of the teachers, even the building horrified us." Collective laughs spread around the crowd. "We soon found out that these things were not that scary. We befriend upper classmen using them for their cars and their age. We learned that teachers are as weak as students and found that they can be swayed with certain types of food."

"People say that high school changes and shapes who you are. The choices and decisions you make everyday can affect who you become. Friends come and go. Drama is a part of high school, no matter how many people deny it. It's the people that stick with you through all the drama, all the heartbreaks, all the tragedy, and all the breakdowns – those are the people worth having around." Mitchie paused to glance at Lola and Caitlyn. Both had tears spilling down their cheeks. Mo's stomach caught in her throat.

She continued on a little unsteady. "Every child dreams of becoming something great when they are young: an astronaut, a doctor, a cowboy, a princess, even a parent. I am a strong believer in having dreams. Dreams are what keep people going. Dreams help children through some of the toughest times of their lives.

"Four years ago, I lost my mother to kidney cancer. I was fourteen, and I lost my best friend. Since I was little I always wanted to be a singer – corny right? After my mother passed away I felt I would never be able to achieve my dream. We always sang together, she inspired me to sing. My father kept telling me I could never give up on my dream. I'm glad I listened to him. Singing was my safe haven; somewhere no one could touch me, where I could just be myself." She looked at Shane, a blush coming to her cheeks. "I'm not telling you this to gloat; I'm trying to tell you that if you have dreams to never forget them. If you work hard enough, your dreams will come true.

"I must wrap my speech up now. I hope it's been formal and inspirational enough for you Mr. Wallens. To my classmates, I hope you didn't completely ignore me the whole time I was up here. Every single one of you is going to do something great one day; even if it's something as little as becoming the best parent ever or something as big as becoming the next best doctor. Whatever you decide to do with your life, just remember to never forget high school. This is where we made all our memories, even if we didn't all know each other, we left our mark on Passaic High."

"My name is Mitchie Jordan; salutatorian, classic rock junkie, aspiring singer, and a Passaic High graduate. Who are you all going to be? Let's graduate!"

**

* * *

**

1:02pm

A sea of green and blue filled the sky as the class of 2009 threw their hats upward. Whoops and screams of happiness exerted throughout the auditorium. Tears of happiness and sadness spilled down the faces of fellow classmates. Mo and Lo braced each other tightly as if they would never see one another again.

"Can you believe this?" Lo finally asked, once the excitement had a momentary stall.

Mo shook her head looking around, taking in the picture. "Not at all."

"Come on, let's find CC," she said dragging her through the rowdy seniors.

"Great speech Mitchie!"

"Way to go Mo!"

Congratulations followed her as she fell into step next to Lola. She smiled; her speech hadn't sucked too badly. She needed to see Shane.

"Lo, Mo!" screamed Caitlyn crushing them in a hug. "Look at my graduates! I'm going to miss you guys so much."

Caitlyn had streaks of mascara trailing down her face from crying.

"Look what your speech did to me," she said pointing to her face. "I hate you so much. It was so ridiculously good though. Who knew you had it in you to write such meaningful things to a bunch of people you don't even like."

"I had inspiration from someone," Mo said, her smile widening as she found him.

Caitlyn and Lola looked behind them to see Shane hanging back from them. They smiled. "Oh, go say hi to lover boy. We will see you at dinner."

"I love you two," Mitchie told her two best friends.

"We love you too!" they chorused and blended into the crowd.

"You want to know how amazing you are?" he asked as she approached.

A flirtatious smile appeared on Mitchie's face. "How amazing?"

Shane scooped her into his arms and whispered into her ear, "More amazing than you could ever possibly imagine. That might have been the most inspirational speech I've ever heard. How come you never told me about your mother?"

"It never came up," she said quietly. "I will tell you all about her some other time. Today is not the time for that though."

"Agreed," he said.

Shane squeezed her again, not wanted to let go of her at all. "You inspire me Mitchie Jordan."

Her smile slipped into a crooked one – just like his. "No one's ever said that to me before."

"You're going to be hearing it a lot now, so get used to it." He stopped suddenly and sighed happily.

"What?" asked Mitchie, wondering if she had done something wrong.

"I just can't get over this feeling you always give me."

"Hold on one second," Mitchie said, reaching for the wig hiding his perfect hair.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Do you want people to see me?"

"I honestly could care less at this moment," she sighed. "I can't take you seriously with it on."

He pulled the wig off and shook out his long hair.

"Much better."

"As I was saying before you kindly interrupted me," he said smiling wider than ever. "Every time you look at me I feel like I might pass out. You make my heart feel so alive and so constricted at the same time. It's never felt so full in my life, but I feel like it just needs to be able to breathe once in awhile. I can never seem to breathe right when I'm with you. How do you do this to me?"

She shrugged. "You do those exact same things to me. I can hardly look you in the eyes sometimes cause I feel like I'll just melt to the ground," she admitted than wished she hadn't. "That sounds so lame."

He tilted her chin upward so they could look each other in the eye. "I will never let you fall to ground, even if you do feel like melting."

She used her free arm to hit him in the chest. "That does not give you permission to make fun of me."

"Okay, okay," he laughed. "It was just so cute though."

"Whatever," she said with a laugh.

He sighed again and stared at her in the way that gave her the heebie jeebies. "I just can't get over the fact of how lucky I am. You seriously are the missing piece in my life, in my heart. I've never been so complete ever. Mitchie Jordan, I'm falling in love with you."

Her heart wanted to explode out of her chest. "I'm falling in love with you too, Shane Gray."

And their lips finally met in the world's most mind-blowing, earth shattering, time stopping, knee weakening kiss ever known to man.

**do you love me or do you love me?? =] thoughts for the sequel - just email me or whatever!! im sad to see my baby go. but im so excited to start the second part of this story. will their love prevail!? LETS HOPE SOO!!**

**thanks; sammay.**


	15. The Sequel

**Hey all my faithful fans!! **

**i have had a request to update here when ive posted my sequel!! i posted it the other day and its called _the Broken Piece_. some of you have already reviewed it and i thank you all greatly!! i do have some grave news to tell you. the other night my entire computer crashed and all my files are gone. so i wont be able to upload for awhile since i have no internet either. im on moms computer now and i would never have time to fully write out a chapter on here. ill write some chapters out though, and hopefully it wont be long before it gets fixed and i can just type them up! but stick with me for now. =] i will update as soon as i am able too! and i am so sorry for this infraction.**

**i also want to tell you how much your reviews mean to me. they make me happy. everytime i get an email that i have a review i get all excited! so thank you for supporting my story. and the sequel. i am also working on another story. so i will have that one up soon too. =]**

**thanks once again, and live without me for a week. =]**

**love you guys, sammie.**


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